Persona 4: Leave No Words Unspoken
by Golden-Black Dragon
Summary: Dylan Blake and Stephen Halsey find friendship, love and more in Inaba Japan. Can they escape their past? Or is their future set in stone? Based on Persona 4/Golden/Animated with extra stuff added in. Yukiko x OC, Rise x OC, Yu x Marie, Yosuke x Chie, Kanji x Naoto, Teddie x ? and more. Title partly inspired by the bridge in "All I Want" by A Day To Remember. Please R & R
1. Prologue Part 1: Beginning Of The End

**Persona 4: Leave No Words Unspoken**

**Prologue Part 1: End of the Beginning**

**February 7, 2010**

**A/N: A reboot of my previous Persona story, albeit with extra plot and (hopefully) better dialogue and editing. Will be looking for a beta reader as well. Please Read & Review.**

_Minatodai Dormitory, Tatsumi Port Island_

It had been approximately five or six days since the remaining members of SEES had travelled back to when Minato had sealed Nyx away. The first purpose of this journey was to find out why Minato had chosen to become a part of the Great Seal. Secondly, they wanted to assist Aigis in embracing her humanity. Even if Aigis was an android, she still had aspirations to be human.

Yukari and Aigis had decided to continue their studies at Gekkoukan, while Junpei had left along with Fuuka. He wasn't sure, but Chase had assumed that Mitsuru and Aki had left already because Mitsuru had left to fully assume her responsibilities as head of the Kirijo while Aki had wanted to travel as far away from anything that reminded him of the loss of his closest friend. Ken and Koromaru were still staying in the dorm because they had nowhere else to go and that made Chase wish that he could be able to take them back to the States with him. _What about Mina?_ _I don't want to leave her alone if she's still hurting but then again I don't want her to leave either because I have no idea what I'd do without her. And that scares me more than anything else._

Currently, Chase and Mina were asleep.

Chase was approximately 5'11" in height and had short blonde hair and blue eyes. He was currently wearing boxer shorts and a plain white t-shirt.

Conversely, Mina had red hair that was currently left untied, and she had brownish eyes. Mina was wearing pink pyjamas with the Roman numeral "XXII" on the left sleeve.

Chase sat up in the bed that he'd been sharing with Mina and looked at her sleeping form, relieved that her nightmares had stopped. Comforting her was one thing but he didn't know how to deal with the nightmares. This was because he didn't really have any previous experiences with loss prior to the past year. Not only that but he didn't really understand what it was like to be without a family or to have his family ripped away from him.

He finally got out of bed and got dressed only for Mina to pull at the covers slightly before waking up herself.

"I didn't mean to wake you. It's just that I'm really worried about you and I just wanted to make sure that you're alright. Especially after what happened to your brother." Chase was reaching for a pair of blue slippers that he'd been wearing around the dorm for the last few days.

He didn't really want to let Mina out of his sight because he was worried that something might happen to her. Plus, Chase wasn't sure if Ken would be able to look after her if he had decided to up and leave. The poor kid had been through enough already.

"I don't know." Mina sighed.

"But I need to know! I don't want to see you hurting like this because I have no idea if I can help you and I don't want to admit it because I'd have failed you. Just tell me. Please." Chase reached for Mina's hand but she pulled away from him making the distance between them wider.

"Do you want me to tell you? You've got a family to go home to and I have nobody! My parents are dead and my brother's keeping Nyx from bringing about the end of the world. You're probably still upset about me and Ryoji aren't you?" Mina stormed out of their room, causing Chase to follow after her.

Mina hadn't gotten very far though. Having arrived in the living room of the dorm, she sat down on the sofa and turned on the TV, almost oblivious to Ken's presence in the room.

"Are you and Chase fighting again?" Ken seemed worried.

"Yeah. I'm sorry if it upset you. He's just worried, and you know how he gets when he's worried." Mina ran her hands through her hair anxiously as Chase had finally managed to find her. And he seemed quite upset to put it mildly.

"Do you think that I'm better off because I've got a family and you don't? For one thing, my father would make Shuji "I'm a backstabbing bastard" Ikutsuki seem pleasant by comparison. Oh, and my two eldest siblings are assholes, Robert's a jarhead and my younger brother Dylan is an irresponsible jackass who cares more about getting drunk, high and chasing girls than he does about anything else. So why don't you tell me if I'm better off then? Or if I'm being selfish for wanting to look after you?" Chase looked at Mina as she stood up and walked over towards him.

"Yeah, you're selfish! Because you just seem to think that everything's absolutely fucking perfect! Which explains why you spent a week avoiding me after we had broken up! And why you disliked Ryoji so much. The only reason you're still here is because you don't want to feel guilty about abandoning Ken and I." Mina was partially right.

"I've spent the last few days trying to wire 1 million US dollars into a bank account that only Ken would have access to because I want him to have a future beyond SEES. Does that sound selfish to you? I'm not just going to abandon Ken because it'd be convenient." Chase stormed out of the room, leaving Mina and Ken by themselves.

"Sorry that you had to see that." Mina deadpanned.

"I understand. You guys love each other and love can be…. Difficult sometimes. Like with you and Ryoji." Ken smiled slightly.

Mina took the remote and began flicking through the channels, and the news stations were just inundated with coverage of the aftermath of Nyx's being sealed away. Not only that but there were repeats of the coverage of the end of term assembly at Gekkoukan where Mitsuru had addressed the students and ostensibly the outside world. People were discussing the significance of the Dark Hour events as well as their being in a line of incidents that had stretched back over fourteen years or more right the way back to the early 1960s and something called Project SHADOW. From what she could tell, Project SHADOW was an attempt by the US military to weaponise Shadows instead of using nuclear weapons but it had backfired on them spectacularly.

"**As I have said before, Blake Consolidated HAS had links with SEBEC as well as the New World Order organization that was led by the late Tatsuzou Sudou but that doesn't mean that the company that I helped lead into its best years is responsible for the activities of those groups or the activities of any other. And for anybody to suggest otherwise is grossly inappropriate and utterly reprehensible. So you can take your little agenda and shove it up where the sun doesn't shine. This press conference is OVER."** The man, who Mina had assumed was Chase's father had just thrown a chair at one of the journalists who was interviewing him before storming out.

"He sounds pleasant. Now I know where Chase gets that side of his personality from." Was that sarcasm?

"Chase-senpai wasn't like that around us. Then again, I almost had to stop him from going after Takaya and Strega by himself after he found out about what happened to Shinji." Ken replied.

"Well we didn't know him until last year. Oh you know what, just forget it." Mina sighed, wishing that things weren't so difficult and that Minato was still there.

"Hey, I think that he's in the kitchen and he'd just need a little bit of time to calm down. I'm not sure, but your calling Chase selfish didn't seem particularly nice. Especially when he was just trying to help you. Not that it's my business or anything." Ken added. He changed the channel to something that would be slightly more entertaining.

Mina meanwhile had gone into the kitchen just as Chase had made himself a cup of coffee and had added in cream and sugar. Over the course of the last year, or rather the last nine months or so, Mina had noticed that Chase didn't like to be out of control and had eschewed alcohol for caffeine as a result. It wasn't that she'd minded but it was a little bit odd especially now that Minato was gone in circumstances that would've almost required a few stiff drinks to cope with.

"I didn't mean to call you selfish. I've just been having a tough time and I didn't mean to take it out on you or anything." Mina said, unsure of whether Chase would accept the apology or not.

"I know, and I accept your apology." Chase responded, only pausing to take a sip of coffee.

"If you are going to be leaving either tonight or the next few days then maybe we can leave together? That is, if you've done everything that you need to do here?" Mina asked, knowing that it was a little bit soon to spring that question on Chase. Plus, Mina didn't know if he had important matters to attend to in New York as well, which would make their attempt to disappear more difficult.

There was a pause as Chase finished his coffee and put the empty cup in the sink.

"I don't see why not. I'd like to visit my folks, well, maybe just Dylan. And, I'd need to think about that. I mean, I'm sure that Yukari and Aigis will be willing to take care of Ken but I don't know. I kind of need to think about it. So I'll just be outside and I'll come back when I've thought about what I want to do. So I'll see you later then?" Chase kissed Mina before leaving the kitchen and exiting the dorm so he could think about what he was going to do.

_Outside Minatodai Dormitory, Tatsumi Port Island_

Chase had left the dorm to clear his head and to better decide what he was going to do. Was he going to leave after today or was he going to stay for a little bit longer? More importantly, where would he go? He thought that it wouldn't really matter where he and Mina would go because people would know who she was mainly because of her brother.

His mind might have been playing tricks on him but he saw a tall man with long hair in a black three-piece suit with a mask on his face. What was unusual about the mask was that there was an orange butterfly on the right side, and Chase had no idea why. The mystery man was also surrounded by blue butterflies that were currently flying around him, one of them even rested on the lapel of his suit.

"Is your name Chase? Chase Blake?" The mystery man looked at Chase, who merely nodded.

"Yes. But, who are you?" Chase responded, unsure as to who the mystery man was.

"I am Philemon. And you might say that I am an envoy of a higher power, if that is what you were asking. Perhaps you're also wondering why I am here talking to you, am I correct?" Philemon smiled behind his mask.

"Yes." Was Chase's only reply.

"Although you were not one of the guests of the Velvet Room, your contributions in regards to the successful sealing of Nyx and Erebus have not gone unnoticed. I should have said that about all of your comrades in SEES if I think about it. No matter, Minato would have failed without you supporting him as you did." The butterflies were continuing to circle around Philemon.

"So, what else are you planning on telling me?" Chase still seemed unconvinced by Philemon.

"A new adventure will begin next April. Another entity that controls Shadows will make its presence felt and that will set things in motion again. There will be two new Wild Cards as well and your brother Dylan will be one of them." Philemon fell silent for a couple of minutes.

"You're telling me that Dylan's going to be getting the call too? Have you met him? Dylan's an irresponsible jackass at the best of times and an utter moron at the worst of times. If he's one of the people who's going to be saving the world next year, then you need to have a pretty good back-up plan just in case he screws up. But that's not why I'm standing here by the way." Chase shrugged. He wasn't quite sure if telling Philemon about his personal life was a good idea or not.

"I see. So, you're in a relationship with Minako then. And correct me if I'm wrong but you don't wish to see her suffering." Philemon said no doubt observing Chase's general demeanour.

"I don't. And that's why I'm going to leave Port Island with her. She needs me and I don't want to abandon her." Chase replied, making sure that the point carried across.

"That's quite noble of you." Philemon said, even if there was more that he wasn't telling.

"I wouldn't call it noble. I'm just trying to be a good person that's all." That wasn't all, and both Chase and Philemon knew it.

"Whatever it is, just remember that neither you nor Dylan have to be prisoners of your family's past. Edmund was a good person, so there's nothing stopping you. I suppose that I'll be seeing you around." Philemon disappeared, leaving Chase standing by himself.

"Thanks for the pep talk?" Chase said, fully aware that Philemon had gone.

He sighed, looking up as clouds began to obscure the horizon. _I'd better get back inside, or Mina's going to be worried. Plus, I'm not exactly dressed for rain anyway. _Chase went back inside the building.

_Minatodai Dormitory, Tatsumi Port Island_

Chase had returned to the dorm, wanting to talk things over with Mina. Upon entering the living room, he saw Mina and Ken sitting on the couch with Koromaru curled up by the table.

"Ken, I'd like to have a private conversation with Mina so would you mind just waiting somewhere else in the dorm please?" Chase asked. Ken and Koromaru went to the kitchen so that Chase and Mina could have their conversation without Ken overhearing.

"So, have you decided yet?" Mina asked, gazing at Chase expectantly.

"Yes. I've decided that I want to leave with you. But I just want to be sure that Ken will be looked after, besides, Yukari and Aigis will be going to Gekkoukan still, so they could look after him while we're gone. Plus, he's got Koromaru here so he wouldn't be so alone." Chase said, certain that they were doing the right thing.

"Great. We'll tell Ken and then we'll tell Yukari and Aigis. It's only fair." Mina was going to say something else, but she was interrupted as Ken and Koromaru had come back.

"I heard all of that. You guys don't need to worry about me. Besides, Chase-senpai's been sorting a lot of financial stuff out for me so I'm set no matter what. I do know that it goes without saying, but I'm really going to miss you guys. Oh, and I'm sorry for walking in on you guys that one time." Ken looked sheepishly down at the ground.

"Don't worry about it. You'll learn all about that stuff in a few years, but hopefully not too soon. Mina and I going to be keeping in touch with you and the rest of SEES so it's not as if we're abandoning you." Chase replied, reassuring Ken that they weren't going to forget him.

"That's good. So when are you guys leaving anyway?" Ken asked.

"We'll be leaving either tomorrow or the day after that. Which means that Chase and I are going to be packing and trying to book flights and everything. Speaking of which, maybe we'd better get started?" Mina asked, directing the question at Chase.

"That sounds like a good idea." Chase and Mina walked out of the living room arm in arm. Their suitcases weren't going to be packing themselves.

_The Great Seal_

Despite being a part of the Great Seal, Minato wasn't confined within it. However, he was able to view images of Port Island and the rest of the world along with things that he wouldn't have fathomed before he had sealed Nyx and Erebus away from each other thereby preventing The Fall from happening.

The Universe Arcana signified the end of his old life and the beginning of something completely different as Igor had told him when he created it. As a result of obtaining the Universe Arcana, he had the power of Creation in his hands and could therefore shape the environs of the Great Seal into whatever he saw fit. Also, he was gathering new Personas, not for himself, but for his replacements.

Minato could see his replacements, not as they were now or whatever passed for now but he saw them as what they would become.

His first replacement, Yu Narukami, had silver-coloured hair and grey eyes. In Minato's vision, Yu was the leader of his team because he was the most able for the job and the rest of his team had agreed to it. Yu was the one who would ultimately prevail against the entity who was controlling the Shadows, but he could see that there was something else there. Minato wondered if the entity, Izanami, would be acting alone or if there was something behind her pulling the strings.

His second replacement, Dylan Blake, was Chase's younger brother. From what Minato had heard about Dylan, he didn't think that Dylan would be one of his replacements because he was incredibly irresponsible. Plus Dylan would have cared more about baser pursuits than saving the world so Minato was naturally surprised that Dylan would be the other person to be associated with the Fool Arcana.

_I wonder if Yu and Dylan will be able to work together for the greater good. I didn't have a problem with Mina because she was my sister and I almost single-handedly looked after her after that incident ten or eleven years ago. Hopefully Chase is taking care of her, I always thought that they'd stay together after I'm gone and I hope that I'm right in thinking that. _

Minato's thoughts were interrupted when he saw one of his three main Personas, Messiah approaching him. Orpheus Telos and Thanatos were elsewhere on an errand and they'd be back later. He'd forgotten that time within the Great Seal was utterly different to normal time in that it didn't actually exist within the Great Seal.

"**Hello Minato." **Messiah's voice rang across the expanse of the Seal like a bell.

"Hello Messiah. I can only assume that Erebus hasn't managed to break the Seal yet." Minato said.

"**I am happy to report that he has not. By the way, I can only assume that Orpheus and Thanatos are finding more Personas in order to help your replacements. It's quite noble if I might say so. Although I wonder if you're meant to interfere in the world now that you're sealed here." **Messiah asked, wondering if there'd be an issue made of it. Well, not by him, but by the Twelve and by extension YHVH himself.

The Twelve were, by order of parentage; Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher. Each of the Twelve represented the Biblical Twelve Tribes of Israel, with Judah being one of Messiah's ancestors and the Well-spring of the kings. They had also been tasked with watching the Great Seal in case Erebus were to break free from it and Minato wasn't enough as well as preventing anyone from breaking Minato free from it after The Answer had been found.

"You're not worried about The Twelve are you? They're only there to protect the Great Seal. Besides, I don't think that I'm doing anything wrong here." Minato replied.

"**Be that as it may, I wonder if this would balance the scales in favour of your replacements. Although I don't think that's a bad thing given what they'll be facing do you?"** Messiah's voice rang out clearly over the expanse again, echoing outwards.

"It's not. But I really hope that it's going to be enough." Minato said, wondering if his assistance was going to turn the tide especially as there were other entities besides Nyarlathotep, Erebus and Nyx around. Entities who were powerful and dangerous, because they were the very embodiments of the Shadows' darkness.

**Notes: **

The Twelve are based on the Biblical sons of Jacob/Israel and although they aren't making a direct appearance, they're going to be in the background.


	2. Prologue Part 2: Dream Or Vision

**Author's Note: Regarding the characterisations of Chase, Dylan and Stephen, they each have their own good points and flaws plus I am not interested in making them perfect people because there'd be no point. Mainly because nobody's perfect. Anyway… **

Disclaimer: I don't own the Persona series, Atlus and whatever its parent company now does.

**Prologue Part 2: Dream or Vision**

**December 7, 2011 (?)**

_?_

A man wearing a suit complete with a blood red tie held a gun to Dylan and a teenager his age with silver hair and grey eyes.

Dylan had, or rather still had, blonde hair that went down to his mid-back and blue eyes. He was wearing ripped jeans, black running shoes and a Deftones t-shirt along with a leather jacket.

The boy, or, Yu had silver hair and grey eyes. He was currently wearing black trousers, a white long-sleeved shirt and a black jacket.

"Are you guys trying to bring me in? Because, I'M the one calling the shots here. Not you." The man in the suit said, still pointing the gun.

"Who said anything about you calling the shots?" Dylan replied.

"He did. Look, I just want to know why you did all of this." Yu sounded a lot calmer than he'd had any reason to be.

"Just take the letter. And I wonder if you're going to give this to the authorities. Or just keep its contents between us." The man in the suit reached for an envelope and handed it over to Yu.

"Why should we? You're a murderer and if we covered up everything you did then we'd be no better than you." Dylan replied, looking between Yu and the man in the suit.

"Dylan's right. Besides, you'll have plenty of time to think about what you've done. You bastard." Yu growled. If he wasn't angry before, he was angry now. Particularly at the suggestion that his silence could be bought.

"Your funeral Narukami. It's such a shame when an upstanding young man such as yourself dies like this. Oh well." The man smiled and pulled the trigger of the gun.

Immediately, Dylan tackled Yu out of the path of the bullet. Unfortunately, the bullet had travelled through his body and lodged itself in his heart. Before he collapsed, Dylan looked down and saw the blood from the bullet wound blossoming outward like some kind of beautiful flower.

As soon as Dylan hit the ground, Yu almost immediately knelt down and attempted to put pressure on the wound. Despite his best efforts, Dylan's blood was still pumping out, staining the floor of the room red along with Yu's clothing.

"Hey, whatever happens to me, promise me that you won't let Adachi get away with this. Why is it so cold?" Dylan gasped.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to let him. And you can trust me. C'mon…" Yu's voice trailed off.

"It's too late. I'm sorry. Will you tell her that I… I love…" Dylan tried to say something, but it was too much of a struggle to speak.

And then everything faded to black.

**April 8, 2011**

_Blake Residence_

Dylan had woken up on the sofa in the living room in his house and he was still wearing the same clothes that he was wearing last night. These were ripped blue jeans, a studded belt and a Machine Head t-shirt. He'd managed to take off his leather jacket without any complications or embarrassment including but not limited to falling over or getting sick everywhere.

That was the good news. The bad news was that he'd foreseen his early death in a dream and he had a raging hangover. Dylan had no idea why he'd even have such a dream if it wasn't going to tell him anything. Then again, he had been having similar dreams to that one for the last few months. In these dreams he either foresaw his own death or saw a strange room or a girl or he just happened to see something else.

Dylan stood up slowly and ambled over to the kitchen. He found bacon and a carton of eggs in the fridge and proceeded to cook the bacon and scramble the eggs before looking for pancake mix and chocolate chips. This took about thirty or forty minutes or so and he put the bacon and eggs and pancakes on separate plates.

With this done, he balanced both plates as he walked back into the living room and sat down. Just as soon as he'd sat down, however, he heard someone knocking loudly on the door and went to go and investigate who or what it was.

He was surprised to find a man wearing a black three-piece suit and a white mask with a butterfly on its right side standing on his doorstep. The man in the suit also had blue butterflies that were either resting upon his shoulders or fluttering about him.

"I am sorry to trouble you, but are you Dylan Blake by any chance? I'm here to tell you something important." The man said. He observed Dylan with an expression of idle interest.

"I am. Who the fuck are you? You're not a cop are you? Because you need a fucking warrant to search the house." Dylan responded.

"Maybe I should have been clearer. My name is Philemon and believe me when I say that there is more to this world than what you might think. Correct me if I am wrong, but you are looking for something more?" Philemon was addressing Dylan directly, wondering what he'd say next.

"I am, but this had better not turn into something weird alright." Dylan gave Philemon a worried look. He was also being deadly serious.

"Of course not. That being said, the next eleven months or so will have their own challenges and you will need to be ready to meet them. And I hope that you are ready. Farewell until we meet again." Philemon said as he disappeared, taking the butterflies with him.

Dylan closed the door almost as soon as Philemon disappeared, relieved that the conversation had ended and also curious as to what was waiting for him in Inaba. While he didn't know what would be waiting for him there, he did know that his breakfast was still in the living room where he left it.

There was also the small matter of the going-away party for himself and Stephen that was going to be held in the house later that evening. Dylan had managed to pay for catering and gotten the numerous guests to bring their own alcohol because he didn't think there'd be enough. And that was despite the trips to a few liquor stores and the use of his fake ID.

First, Dylan quickly ate the bacon strips and scrambled eggs that he'd cooked and then went back into the kitchen to look for maple syrup for the chocolate chip pancakes. Along with a beer or a bottle of something stronger to go along with the meal. Preferably vodka. He'd found a still full bottle of vodka in the fridge along with a few cans of Red Bull and the maple syrup was somewhere in the pantry.

"Found it!" Dylan exclaimed while holding the container of maple syrup in triumph. He placed everything on the kitchen countertop so he could look for a glass. After remembering that there were clean glasses in the dishwasher, he found one of them and placed it on the countertop.

Balancing the container, the vodka bottle, the cans of Red Bull and the glass in each hand, he walked back into the living room and sat down. After placing everything on the table and subsequently finishing breakfast, he turned on the TV to one of the news channels.

"**It has been a few weeks since several bodies were found in the D.C. metropolitan area. The bodies were heavily mutilated and had exhibited signs of torture and possible sexual violence. These murders are purported to be linked to the theft of secret documents that took place slightly before the murders took place. We will update you on developments as we get them." **The news anchor said, looking intently at the camera.

Dylan opened the bottle of vodka and poured about a quarter of it into the glass before opening one of the cans of Red Bull and pouring it in. He didn't know if that news story was related to Philemon's visit but there was a part of him that assumed that it was a possibility.

…

It was approximately eleven or twelve o'clock at night, and the party had been going for a few hours. Not only that but the house was almost completely full to the point where the party was carrying on outside the house as well much to the consternation of the neighbours.

"This party is fucking insane. Hey, is that body glitter?" Stephen asked.

Stephen had neck length black hair and brown eyes. He was currently wearing black boots, camouflage pants and a black t-shirt with a white skull on the front. Stephen was also one of Dylan's closest friends and had remained so even after the death of Dylan's girlfriend Roz.

"It is! There were these two chicks in my room, and let's just say we had a really good time." Dylan grinned, swaying unsteadily.

"So, where are Travis, Eddie and Zack?" Stephen had seen them earlier but he wasn't sure.

"They're around. Well, speaking of which, I think that's Travis!" Dylan shouted, pointing at a teenager their age with strawberry-blonde hair and green-grey eyes.

Travis noticed Dylan and Stephen and made a drunken beeline towards them.

"'You've really outdone yourself this time." Travis was about to say something else but he thought better of it.

"No kidding. Let's just say that my dad's going to be in for a few shocks when he gets back on Sunday. And I'll be gone so he can't do anything about it." Dylan chuckled at the thought of his dad coming home and finding out that he'd used the hose as the venue for his going-away party.

"Well yeah. It's going to be weird without you guys you know?" Travis sighed.

"I know. But you guys would be able to visit during the summer I'm sure." Stephen responded.

"Yeah. It's just, I'm used to it being the five of us. Us against the world, that kind of thing. And I'm glad that you guys didn't throw me under the bus after Roz died." Dylan wasn't sure if there was anything else that needed to be said about that.

The trio could hear somebody knocking and ringing the doorbell. Dylan, naturally, went to open the door in order to see who it could be. He opened the door and was shocked to find Chase standing there with a red-haired girl or, more accurately, young woman.

"Chase? What the hell? I thought you disappeared?!" Dylan yelled, clearly not sounding thrilled about Chase's sudden return.

"It's a long story. And I'd really prefer not to explain it now. There's too many people." Chase turned and began to walk away, followed by the red-head.

"So when do you want to explain it then?" Dylan questioned as he ran after them.

"Tomorrow. You're leaving in two days right? Or wouldn't it be one day? Shit, I almost forgot, this is my girlfriend Mina." Chase decided to just let Mina and Dylan shake hands.

"Well, this has been fun. And I'm a little bit jetlagged so I'd better just get going. See you tomorrow." Mina said, waving as she walked back to the car that was parked near the front lawn of the house.

"Look, I'm sorry about not being there for you after Roz's death. But there were some things that I had to do. And I had to look after Mina because she was in a really bad place after everything. Maybe it's better if I just tell you tomorrow. Good night Dylan." Chase regretted not being there for Dylan, but there wasn't really anything that he could've done about that. He walked back the car and got in with Mina before driving away.

Dylan sighed before attempting to re-enter the already crowded house. He took extra care to avoid some of the people who were pretty much fucking on the front lawn. Safe to say, it was getting fertilised in an entirely different way.

He took a long look and could see a squad car pulling up almost as soon as Chase and Mina had left. A cop had gotten out of the car and was making purposeful strides towards the front door of the house. Said cop had even managed to cut off Dylan's re-entry.

"Listen, I've getting some **complaints **about this party so I'd like you to shut it down if at all possible." The cop made it sound like a reasonable request. Well, to anybody else.

"The fuck? Who ratted me out? Look man, I don't think it's too loud. Plus, you're in the wrong neighbourhood motherfucker. Don't you have actual criminals to arrest?" Dylan said, slamming the door in the officer's face.

"You might think that's smart, but if there's still complaints being raised about how loud the party is with me then you're going down. I don't want to have to come back." The cop growled, walking back to the car and slamming the door.

_Waldorf Astoria, New York_

"You can't blame yourself. Roz's death wasn't your fault right?" Mina sounded concerned.

"I know but I should've been there for him. Do you think we did the right thing by disappearing"? Chase asked. He was sure that he'd done the right thing a year or so ago, but he didn't feel so sure now.

"We had to. But I don't know anymore." Mina replied, looking as Chase had poured himself a glass of scotch from a bottle that he'd ordered about a few hours previously. Yeah, he didn't drink under normal circumstances, but these circumstances WEREN'T normal.

"So does that mean it was okay to let Dylan become WORSE than I'd remembered him being? He needed people to support him when he needed it most and I let him down." Chase said in as morose a tone of voice as possible.

"Blaming yourself isn't going to make it any better." Mina rested her head on Chase's shoulder.

"Maybe. I think we've got that meeting in about two days or so by the way." Chase had no idea why he agreed to meet Calloway. Maybe, just MAYBE, he missed the old days with SEES.

"So, he thinks that we can magically convince the team to come back right? I mean, we can't make them re-join SEES unless we decide to do it ourselves." Mina had gotten up to get a glass as well.

"I don't think we've got a choice." Chase responded before taking a long gulp of scotch.

"As someone told me once, there's always a choice." Mina answered.

"Maybe." Chase sighed, wondering what the next day was going to bring. If anything. Trying to explain to Dylan what he'd been doing since early February of last year would be incredibly difficult .

"Well, I believe there is. I chose to leave Port Island with you right? I could've just as easily said that I didn't want you to leave with me." Mina said, surveying the room.

"Yeah, but that's different. I just couldn't believe that he'd changed so much." Chase said, hoping that there'd be some way to reach Dylan.

**Extra Note**

Sorry about the chapter being so short, but the next chapter will be longer. Plus it's going to be when the story actually starts. Will most likely be going back and editing this at a later date too. Oh, and there's going to be a lot of new Personas.

**Short (New) Persona List**

**Lionheart **

**Albion**

**King Arthur**

**Merlin**

**Guinevere**

**Lancelot**

**Bedevere**

**Ector **

**Bors**

**Gawain **

**Percival**

**The Green Knight**

**Dagda **

**Éiru**

**Ogma**

**Lugh**

**Balor**

**Diarmuid Ua Duibhne **

**Maedbh**

**Morrigan**

**Aengus**

**Macha **

**Gilgamesh**

**Enkidu**

**Ahura Mazda**

**Zurvan**

**Ahriman**

**Marduk **

**Cyrus**

**Hephaestus**

**Pandora**

**Daedalus**

**Icarus**

**Perseus**

**Theseus **

**Medusa **

**Nemean Lion**

**Heracles **

**Zeus**

**Hera**

**Typhon **

**Urd**

**Skuld**

**Verdandi **

**King Canute**

**Jormungandr**

**Beowulf **

**Grendel**

**Leif Erikson **

**Erik the Red**

**Yggdrassil**

**Hraesvelgr **

**Garm **

**Asmodeus**

**Azazel**

**Arioch**

**Morax**

**Moloch**

**Adrammalech**

**Adam Kadmon**

**Eve**

**Cain**

**Abel**

**Seth**

**Noah**

**Abraham**

**Isaac**

**Ishmael**

**Abihiko**

**Nagasunehiko**

**Komainu **

**Ame-No-Ohabari**

**Jikokuten**

**Koumokuten **

**Bishamonten**

**Zouchoten **

**Hachiman**

**Futotama**

**Kotoshironushi**

**There's going to be more additional Personas than just the ones listed. Admittedly, a lot of them would have appeared in other SMT titles but some of them wouldn't have. **


	3. Chapter 1: New Journeys

**Chapter 1: New Journeys**

**April 11, 2011**

_Velvet Room_

Dylan wasn't quite sure what to think the first time that he was summoned to the Velvet Room. It resembled the back of a limousine that was permanently submerged in a purple-tinged ocean except that he wasn't drowning. He looked and he could see an old man with a long nose that resembled a toucan's beak wearing a suit. Also, there was a very attractive blue-eyed blonde woman wearing a coat over a blue dress. There was also a Tarot deck on the table that was between where he was seated and where the old man and the woman were seated.

"Who are you guys? And why am I here?" Dylan asked.

"My name is Igor and this is my lovely assistant Margaret. As to why you are here, you're one of the two Wild Cards." Igor replied.

"What? This isn't some kind of elaborate practical joke is it? Which would explain that guy in the mask with the butterflies outside my house." Dylan said, sarcasm creeping into his voice.

"It's not a practical joke. The man you met, if you could call him that, is called Philemon. He is an envoy from a higher power. The Wild Card gives you the ability to control multiple Personas and there is another Wild Card besides yourself. But I don't think that you have met the other Wild Card yet." Igor had looked over while he placed his fingers in a sort of steeple.

"So are you going to be telling me anything else? Like what the Tarot deck is mean to symbolise? Because I've never had a Tarot reading or anything like that so I wouldn't know." Dylan said, looking intently at the Tarot deck.

Igor took the Tarot deck and began shuffling it. After about a few minutes, he found a card that had best represented Dylan through either process of elimination or something completely different. The card that Igor had taken from the deck had what appeared to be a jester dancing dangerously close to a precipice. He didn't know why, but he felt that the card was speaking to him somehow.

"The Fool Arcana represents innocence, divine inspiration, madness, freedom, spontaneity, inexperience, chaos and creativity. It is also the number zero which means that it is the beginning of everything. There were two people who had the Fool Arcana the last time, which is most interesting. I think it's because I've never had two sets of guests with the same Arcanas before. Hmm." Igor said, while also wondering how such a thing had happened. However, he knew that Dylan had other questions to ask him.

"So does that explain how Philemon knew my brother right? Just wondering, if I asked you if you knew Chase then how would you have known him?" Dylan asked.

"While Chase wasn't one of my guests, I would have known him because of the Social Links that my previous guests would have established and built upon over their journey." Igor fell silent.

"Yes. The Social Links create your world and help to strengthen you during your journey. In addition, these bonds will enable you to fuse stronger Personas which are extensions of the self. You and the other Wild Card will need to make full use of this." Margaret added.

"But what happens if we don't?" Dylan asked, unsure as to how any of this information would help him.

"Well, what will happen is that you will be overwhelmed by the threats that beset you and unable to succeed in your journey. And I don't think that's a good option given what's at stake." Margaret replied.

"Why not? What'll happen if the other Wild Card and I don't succeed?" This question prompted a sad sigh from Margaret.

"Then the world will end, and eventually the universe. And I've grown rather attached to both." Margaret responded.

"Yes. Therefore, it is essential that you complete the Social Links in addition to succeeding in your journey." Igor said, taking a look at Dylan as he did so.

"Right. And how am I meant to succeed then?" Dylan asked. He was, in all honesty, a little bit sceptical about all of this.

"By following the right path. You'll figure it out." Igor said, smiling as the dream began to fade away into nothingness.

_Somewhere Above Narita Airport_

"**Attention all passengers, this is your captain speaking. We are approaching Narita airport and will be landing in about thirty minutes. Please return your trays to the upright position and switch off all electronic devices if you haven't already done so. As you can see, the sky is currently blue and sunny so the descent will be smooth." **The captain's voice emanated throughout the airplane.

Dylan woke up and rubbed his eyes. Despite trying to fall asleep on the flight, the dreams that he had been having were causing him to have a much disrupted sleeping pattern. Stephen, by contrast had slept soundly for most of the flight and he only had to wake up to go to the bathroom.

"So you've been having those dreams again huh?" Stephen asked, looking worriedly at Dylan.

"Yeah. And that was one of the more normal ones." Dylan said.

"Since when did dreams involving ghost limousines count as normal?" Stephen had absolutely no idea, hence why he was asking the question.

"When your other dreams involve you getting shot." Dylan snapped.

"Chill the fuck out. Let's just change the subject alright." Stephen was only saying it to pacify Dylan.

"Sure. I'm guessing that Inaba's quiet enough. Which is good seeing as my parents, particularly dad didn't want to send me somewhere with too many distractions. As long as there's somewhere to buy booze I couldn't give a shit." Dylan shrugged his shoulders almost as if to say that he was going to make the best of his exile.

"Maybe. It's not as if Inaba is really far away from other towns and cities right? Besides, if we got bored we could just take a train somewhere else and kill a few hours." Stephen said, grinning.

"Yeah. By the way, the people who run the inn we're staying in has a daughter around our age. So there are going to be cute girls, which is an added plus." Dylan smiled at the thought. And if they were anything like some of the girls back home, well things were going to be a lot more fun.

"I'm assuming that you and Crystal or whatever her name was are done then?" Stephen asked.

"Yep, but I think that thing was a bit of a long-shot anyway." Dylan said. He hadn't been able to have lasting relationships since Roz died, but he didn't tell Stephen that. But he understood.

"The plane's going to land soon." Stephen looked out the window of the plane to see the ground slowly rushing up to meet the plane.

_Undisclosed Location, Washington D.C._

A man in his mid-fifties with short brown hair and grey eyes wearing a three piece suit with a blue tie stood in front of a door that led to a secret room. The man, Garrett Calloway, had been on numerous missions during his career working for the CIA and FBI along with a variety of American and international intelligence agencies. The mission that he was due to be briefed on was going to be different to any other mission that he had been on.

After he had been waiting for quite some time, a man in military uniform stepped out of the door and informed him that General Maxwell would be seeing him now. The soldier led him into General Maxwell's office. Maxwell was currently seated and motioned for Calloway to take a seat before passing him a file.

"I wonder why I've been chosen for this assignment." Calloway said.

"Because you wouldn't be likely to use this as an opportunity to increase your influence. You're not that kind of person." Maxwell smiled.

"Thank you. I think that I might require a little bit more detail than what the file I've been given says because a more substantial file had been stolen about a month ago." Calloway replied.

"Right. There was a government-funded research initiative called Project SHADOW that was researching how to turn creatures that fed off of negative emotions called Shadows into weapons about fifty years ago. This involved sending them through televisions that were linked to enemy bases. Unfortunately, something went wrong during a test in Roswell New Mexico sometime during 1961 that resulted in the deaths of the researchers and numerous innocent bystanders. Naturally we said that aliens were responsible and hid the truth. But someone's managed to steal the files and learn how to bring people into the world of the Shadows." Maxwell had finished the explanation pertaining to Project SHADOW and waited for Calloway to respond.

"Ah. Of course, what you had neglected to mention was that Shadows and other supernatural entities had been surfacing since then. As a matter of fact, there were three incidents involving Shadows and the entities controlling them in the last fifteen years." Calloway replied.

"That's where you come in. You have to reassemble the previous three teams because they've split up but the members of the first two teams to encounter the Shadows will be easier to convince. The members of the third team have ostensibly split up for good so it would be advisable for you to get someone on that team to convince the rest." Maxwell explained.

"Speaking of which, two members of the SEES team that helped seal away Nyx two years ago are staying here and I'm meeting them later. The girl, Minako, is the twin sister of Minato Arisato the one who sacrificed himself to become part of the Great Seal. And the other one is Chase Blake, the fourth son of Gregory Blake." Calloway had to include that detail.

"What makes you think that they'll convince the other members of SEES? They disappeared a little over a year ago because Minako needed to grieve for her brother on her own and Chase wanted to help her. Or at least that was my understanding of it based on the Intel that I was given." Maxwell grimaced slightly, cursing the quality of the intelligence regarding SEES.

"Because they don't want there to be another incident. That's why." Calloway responded tersely.

"Alright. I really hope this works." Maxwell said.

"Me too. That being said, I'm sure that there are contingency plans in place." Calloway responded before making his exit from the room.

After being escorted out of the room and out of the building, he was taken to a black car with tinted windows. There were guards inside the car as well only this time they were wearing suits.

"I assume you know where we're going right?" Calloway asked the driver.

"Yes sir." The driver replied.

The car sped away to its destination, Calloway starting to wonder what the mission would bring. He also wondered if there was any chance of it succeeding as well as putting a plan in place if the mission failed.

_Narita Airport, Tokyo Japan_

Dylan and Stephen had gotten processed without too much hassle and were currently waiting for their luggage to arrive. And they'd been waiting for about thirty minutes or so with no sign of anything.

"Hey, I'm going to get something to eat, so would you mind grabbing our luggage?" Dylan asked.

"Sure." Stephen shrugged. He watched as Dylan walked away before turning his gaze back to the luggage conveyor belt.

He had managed to get their luggage after another fifteen minutes or so and he noticed a girl who was slightly younger than him with copper coloured hair, brown eyes and gorgeously tanned skin. She was wearing an orange shirt with oddly puffy sleeves above a white shirt along with white knee-length pants that kind of drew attention to her. Stephen wasn't sure but she seemed to be a little stressed.

"You okay?" Stephen inquired, sounding worried.

"I'm fine, just a little bit stressed." The girl answered.

"Do you want to talk about it? Oh, my name's Stephen in case you were wondering. But, uh, you can call me Steve." Stephen's heart almost leapt into his mouth when he saw the girl smiling at him.

"My name's Rise. It's kind of more of a career thing." Rise sounded tentative mainly because she wasn't sure if Stephen knew who she was. Then again….

"Wait, you do look a little bit familiar. I'm guessing that you have to travel a lot right?" Stephen stated.

"I do. It's great don't get me wrong but I wonder if there's more to life than just travelling and seeing so many great places and not getting to genuinely connect with people. Maybe it'd be a good idea for me to just give it up for a while so I can actually live my life." Rise added.

"So what would you be planning on doing then?" Stephen wondered.

"Well, I've got one or two more shows left and then I'll be going to Inaba in either May or June." Rise smiled at the thought of putting her music career to one side for a little while or possibly more.

"I almost forgot, my friend Dylan and I are going to be staying there for about a year as foreign exchange students." Stephen replied.

"Hey, maybe we can hang out or something then? Why don't we exchange numbers? Just so we can keep in touch." Rise gave Stephen her cell phone number and Stephen gave her his.

"Thanks. So, what's your connection to Inaba anyway?" Stephen asked.

"Well, my grandmother's from there. And I'm going to be living with her when everything's done." Rise said by way of an explanation.

Stephen was about to say something else when Dylan had finally re-emerged from getting them food. Plus the blonde was walking over to them with two brown bags in hand and a newspaper under his other arm. And he seemed pissed off about something.

"I really don't want to interrupt but it turns out that we've got about half an hour to find our train before it leaves so we'd better get moving." Dylan snarled before roughly handing Stephen one of the brown bags.

"Sorry Rise but I'd better get going." Stephen said, turning his attention to Rise who seemed to understand. The girl waved goodbye to him as they begun to walk away with their luggage.

After finally making it to the train station, they'd discovered that they had a few minutes to kill so they decided to eat and talk.

"Let me guess, your dad found out about the party? Or did he call you to give you one of the worst pep talks imaginable?" Stephen asked. Dylan's dad and his tendency towards being either an asshole at the best of times or a domineering tyrant at the worst of times had become a sort of running joke between the two.

"He hasn't found out yet. But he did call to say that if I screwed up then I'd be getting cut off. And I don't think that we've been in Japan all that long." Dylan replied, punctuating his sentences with large bites of hamburger.

"Yeah. I doubt we could've done anything to get us deported back home yet." Stephen said.

They finished their meal in relative silence until their train arrived.

_In Another Undisclosed Location, Washington D.C._

After arriving at another undisclosed location Calloway had exited the car and walked into a small nondescript building where Chase and Mina were waiting. The couple were sitting at a black table with a few different files in front of them. Calloway had decided to sit down when they were finished reading them.

"So, have you come to a decision yet?" Calloway asked.

"Yes. We have decided to help you to convince the rest of SEES to reunite to combat whatever new threat has emerged. Just to clarify, we're not helping you because of survivor's guilt but we're helping you because we've seen exactly what a being that can control Shadows is capable of." Chase said.

"I'm assuming that Minako is saying yes as well. However I want to hear her say that she'll assist in the mission herself." Calloway added.

"I agree." Mina replied.

"In that case, I feel that it is best for you to be briefed as to what exactly this mission entails. If you decide that this mission is too difficult then I will accept your decision." Calloway waited for them to agree before continuing.

"Between the mid to late 1950s and 1961 there were a series of tests done to see if Shadows could be turned into weapons. These tests usually involved a conduit being set up, like a television, and throwing in animals or criminals in lieu of enemy combatants. In 1961, however, one of these tests had backfired horribly and the Shadows were wiped out and all information pertaining to Project SHADOW was placed beyond the reach of the general public. However, someone had managed to steal the files about a month ago around the same time that several murders had occurred in the city." Calloway explained.

"Why are you telling us this?" Mina asked.

"I wouldn't want you two to make a decision such as this lightly." Calloway responded back.

"We've said that we'd agree to help and that's what we'll do." Chase sounded a little bit tense.

"Wonderful. What you need to do is contact the other members of SEES and get them to meet you in order to convince them to help in the mission. I will be contacting the members of the two teams of Persona users who defeated Nyarlathotep in order to get their help in this matter. Goodbye and good luck." Calloway nodded as Chase and Mina left the room, closing the door behind them. He was sure that they would be able to find their way out of the building.

_Yasoinaba Region, Japan _

There were less people on the train the closer that it got to Inaba. It had eventually gotten to the point where there was only one other person in the cart that Dylan and Stephen were currently in. Said other person had silver-grey hair, grey eyes and a turtle-neck jacket. He was also asleep and holding what seemed to be a katana in its sheathe wrapped in some kind of cloth in his right hand. There was also a silver briefcase beside him.

"Hey, what's in the suitcase? And why does he have a sword?" Stephen asked. He looked over at the sleeping silver-haired teenager.

"I don't know and I don't think it'd be a good idea to ask him." Dylan replied in a hushed tone of voice.

"What if he's sent from the future? Why don't you just go and check if he is." Stephen said back.

"Fine. But it's your fault if I get murdered." Dylan sighed as he walked over to the sleeping silverette. After walking over to the boy, he leaned over and slapped him across the face, causing him to wake up.

"Dylan? What the hell?" The silverette yelled as he stood up.

"What the fuck? How do you know my name? And who are you?" Dylan asked, looking at the silverette with a worried expression.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you now. In response to your previous question, my name is Narukami Yu but you can call me Yu." Yu responded.

"Anyway, that's Stephen." Dylan pointed to Stephen who waved.

"So, where's your stop?" Stephen asked, directing the question at Yu.

"Inaba." Yu looked as Dylan and Stephen exchanged glances.

"That's our stop too." Dylan added, not quite sure what to make of Yu.

"So, how long are you going to be there for?" Stephen interjected.

"I'm going to be there for a year. Let me guess, you're going to be there for a year too right?" Yu wasn't really guessing but he didn't tell them that.

"So where are you staying? Pretty sure you've got family in Inaba or at least a place to stay." Dylan replied.

"I'm going to be staying with my uncle who I haven't seen since I was younger. And you're staying at the inn. Oh and you're the two foreign exchange students." Yu wasn't being fully truthful with them. He HAD seen his uncle before, but it was the wrong time to explain everything.

**Attention passengers. We are now arriving at Yasoinaba Station. Please exit to the right if you wish to disembark." **The PA announced. They weren't really sure how much time had passed but they exited the train with their luggage.

"I'm assuming that we'll be going to the same high-school then. So, I'll see you around okay." Yu waved to Dylan and Stephen before walking away. He took his luggage, the sword and the briefcase with him.

"That was interesting." Dylan deadpanned.

"Yeah. I think we'd better get going. I don't know about you but I really just want to get settled in." Stephen said. They took their luggage and began walking towards the inn.

_Amagi Inn_

After getting lost about two or three times, Dylan and Stephen had finally managed to get to the inn where they would be staying for the next year.

Upon entering the lobby of the inn, they were greeted by the daughter of the couple who ran the inn. Maybe they were busy.

"Sorry that my parents haven't been able to introduce themselves in person but they're busy. I'm Yukiko by the way." Yukiko said, looking at Dylan and Stephen.

"You could've just told me that your name was drop dead gorgeous and I'd have believed it. But I don't think that's the first time anyone's said it. My name's Dylan by the way, and that's Stephen but everyone calls him Steve. Play your cards right and you just might be saying more of mine." Dylan smirked.

"I know your type. Just because you've trotted that line out before and it worked, don't assume that it'll work on me. I've had a bad experience before and I'd rather not repeat it." Yukiko's voice turned remarkably cold.

"Let me guess, he was athletic, he fucked you and he either wouldn't shut up about it or went behind your back with someone else?" Dylan asked, looking as Yukiko turned a bright red before her skin returned to a normal colour.

"Well, aren't you just perceptive? And yes, you're right just so you know." Yukiko replied, walking to Dylan until she was standing right in his face.

"Sorry to interrupt but could you tell me where our rooms are?" Stephen interjected.

"Oh, where are my manners? They're right this way." Yukiko's demeanour swiftly changed as she led them to where their rooms were.

Their rooms were directly across the hall and Yukiko handed Stephen his room key before wanting to continue the conversation that she was having with Dylan in the lobby.

"So, am I getting the key to my room now? Or do I have to do something else for it?" Dylan eyed up Yukiko. She had long black hair and was wearing a red head band and a red dress as well as black boots.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you but I'm really not that kind of girl. So here's your key." Yukiko said, before handing Dylan the key to his room and walking away.

Dylan briefly wondered if Yukiko was the girl that he was talking about in his vision. Maybe she was, but it was too early for him to say yet.

_Dojima Residence_

The house was nearly at the very end of the street, which was something that Yu had remembered.

Yu followed his uncle Ryotaro or Dojima as he preferred to be called and Nanako into the house. There was food on the table that had the Junes logo on it. _Junes? Didn't Dylan say that his father's company had invested in the Junes chain as well as buying stock? I wonder if Igor told me that there would be things I'd remember from before._

"I'm sorry about the absence of home-cooked food but I don't really cook and I have crazy hours sometimes so I wouldn't have time to cook even if I wanted to." Dojima said, apologising for his lack of culinary skills.

"Don't worry about it. Really." Yu replied, smiling.

"Shit. Sorry, but I've got to get to work. I'll be home late." Dojima said before exiting the house.

"So, your father's a detective right?" Yu asked Nanako.

"Yeah. He has to work late so I don't get to see him all that much when there's cases." Nanako sounded disappointed as if Dojima's working late was a regular occurrence.

Yu turned on the TV to see what was on and a commercial for Junes appeared.

"Every day's great at your Junes!" The jingle played and Nanako sang along with it. And all was right with the world.

Eventually Nanako went to bed and Yu went up to his room to get his katana because he knew what was going to happen next. When it got close to midnight, he put his hand against the blank screen of the TV. He could see his hand slowly sink in but he pulled it out before it could sink in further.

"There's no time like the present." Yu said before finally jumping into the TV.

_?/Mayonaka _

Yu had managed to land on his feet while still holding the sheathed katana in his right hand. He looked to his left and could see Dylan standing to his feet before walking over to him.

"Hey, do you have any idea where the hell we are?" Dylan asked.

"We're in a place called Mayonaka. It's sort of like an alternate dimension. Look, I know that you're going to ask me how I know that but that's going to have to wait." Yu sounded slightly more on edge than he'd have liked.

"Because we're in danger? Would you mind saying "Come with me if you want to live" because you'd sound a lot more convincing if you did." Dylan just decided to ignore Yu's vaguely annoyed expression.

"FINE. Come with me if you want to live." Yu said, even managing to get the accent right and everything.

With this little distraction out of the way, Yu and Dylan went further down until they were stopped by a strangely feminine shape that loomed out of the fog.

"**You seek the truth but you will only find suffering." **The voice emanated from the fog. It was a distinctly feminine voice but it sounded menacing.

Yu unsheathed the katana and slashed at the fog and the figure within it to no avail.

"**The children of men have always tried to seek the truth, and turned on those who believed a different truth. It would be better to live in blissful ignorance than to undergo such suffering." **The voice boomed contemptuously.

The fog was beginning to spread to the point where the surrounding area was quickly becoming more and more difficult to see.

"There's too much fog!" Dylan shouted, trying to see where the figure was.

"**I can alleviate your suffering!" **The figure was about to attack Yu and Dylan but it stopped.

"**I am thou, thou art I!" **The figure in the fog disappeared at the sound of this other voice.

"This has been interesting. Here's hoping that we can get out of here." Dylan said.

"I'm sure there is." Yu responded. Luckily for them, two old-style TVs had appeared. Dylan had jumped into one and Yu had jumped into the other one.

_Somewhere, Somewhen_

Yukiko had been having the same dream for the past number of years. She could see a cold operating table like in a hospital and could see a teenager with long blonde hair and blue eyes but those eyes were currently closed. Only now did she realise that Dylan and the boy on the operating table were the same person.

"_It's too late. I'm sorry. Will you tell her that I… I love…"_ She could hear his voice and it was always the same voice.

Slowly, the dream began to change. She was standing in some sort of rehearsal space and this time the blonde was alive and well. He was wearing ripped jeans and a t-shirt with the word "Slayer" on it and what looked like an eagle of some description.

Yukiko idly wondered if he could see her but she sort of knew that she was in the moment of the dream because he noticed her.

"Hey there. I wonder if I can apologise for myself but here goes. I apologise for being such a jackass. I really should've let you know I felt when I had the chance. But I didn't. And I'm hoping he does. Or I do. I didn't think that being dead would be this confusing." Dylan said. He sounded more mature than the person that she'd talked to earlier.

"What do you mean?" She sounded worried.

"I don't want to ruin the moment okay? It's just that I never really got a chance to…." Dylan trailed off before deciding to kiss Yukiko. The kiss was surprisingly tender and lasted for about a few minutes before they broke the kiss.

"So what will happen to get him or you to say it?" Yukiko asked.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out." Dylan faded away along with the rest of the dream. Everything began to fade to white.

_The Great Seal_

Minato couldn't quite figure it out but something was different in the outside world. It was almost as if somebody was trying to change not only his fate, but the fate of countless others. He knew that Orpheus Telos, Thanatos and Messiah could feel it too.

**"I wonder if he'll succeed." **Orpheus Telos said, referring to one of Minato's replacements.

**"He'd have to because it's not like he'll be getting another chance." **Thanatos growled.

**"I wonder if they've found out." **Messiah was referring to the Twelve. While the Twelve were on their side, they mightn't take kindly to any form of interference that might change the nature of existence.

"I don't think it matters if they have." Minato looked across the expanse of the Great Seal.

**"It's not like we can help them directly." **Orpheus Telos sounded solemn.

**"We can't leave the seal remember? Idiot." **Thanatos replied, grunting in annoyance.

**"We can't but we have to do something." **Messiah, unlike Orpheus Telos and Thanatos, was able to remember his more-or-less former life. He didn't like to see people suffering even if there wasn't anything that he could do about it.

"Like what? You've already gone and found them extra Personas. So that counts." Minato said. The quartet lapsed into silence, wondering if the gamble would succeed. Or even if it could.


	4. Chapter 2: Back To School

**Chapter 2: Back to School**

**April 12, 2011**

_Twisted Shopping District, Mayonaka_

Teddie had blue fur and wore a red and white jumpsuit which were unusual things for bears. But then again he wasn't technically a bear and he wasn't even sure what he was.

He looked and he could see a blonde-haired teenager with blonde hair that was down past his shoulders and blue eyes. Said teenager was wearing ripped blue jeans, black shoes, and a leather jacket over a blood-stained t-shirt and he was carrying an axe. Teddie wasn't sure but the boy was familiar or at least he smelled that way.

"Hey Teddie. I'm really happy to see you." The boy said. He looked at Teddie who looked back at him.

"How do I know that you're not a grizzly?" Teddie demanded.

"It's me, Dylan! Calm the fuck down. But I'm dead or at least I think I am. Just smell me and you'll see that I'm telling you the truth." Dylan or rather Future Dylan explained.

Teddie sniffed and gave a slight nod of recognition to Future Dylan.

"If you're dead then why are you here?" Teddie asked innocently.

"You'd have to ask Toucan-Nose about it. I agreed to the terms of his contract and that means I'm tied to the Velvet Room until my mission is finished. Or if things work out the way that they're supposed to." Future Dylan replied.

"Oh. I wonder if the other you would have a bear-y different smell." Teddie wondered.

"Well, you could say that I'm older and I'm sure you'd be able to smell the difference between us if you had to." Future Dylan responded. He'd loosened his grip on the axe because it was beginning to look like he didn't have to use it.

"I could. But I haven't met the other you yet so I wouldn't know what he smells like." Teddie said in a disappointed tone of voice. He wondered if the other Dylan was anything like Future Dylan or even if the other Dylan would want to be like him.

"If you haven't met the other me, then I can only assume that you haven't met the rest of the team either. I really hope that the other me tells **her** how he feels about her when he starts to feel like she might be the one." Future Dylan's voice was full of regret as he remembered that he had found the perfect person for him and didn't tell her how he felt until it was too late.

"Me too. I still don't understand why you never told her." Teddie said.

"I don't understand that either. Hey, you remember the summer festival?" Future Dylan asked, allowing himself to smile at the memory.

"I do. Why?" Teddie responded with another question.

"Well, I was going to tell her how I felt but I didn't want to ruin the moment. It might sound stupid now but I always assumed I'd get another moment like that with her." Future Dylan said, regret creeping back into his voice.

"I'm bear-y sure that the other you will get those kinds of moments with her." Teddie smiled.

"I hope so. Hey I wonder if everything worked out with Yu. Toucan-Nose said something about there being a last resort that he could use." Future Dylan mused.

"Maybe." Teddie wasn't quite sure how to respond.

"I think Yu would remember everything that happened if that's what the plan was. But some things might be different now so you never know." Future Dylan said, whilst also checking his surroundings for Shadows.

"I'll be seeing you again then?" Teddie asked.

"You bet." Future Dylan smiled as he disappeared.

As he was technically a ghost, Future Dylan was confined to Mayonaka and would only appear if there was need for him to appear. He knew that he'd have to keep Teddie in the loop about everything because he wasn't sure if he could convince his other self of everything.

_Dojima Residence_

Today, if Yu remembered it correctly, was the day when everything began. As he awoke he wondered about the rest of the team and what they were currently doing. He had met Dylan and Stephen but he hadn't met the rest of the team yet and wouldn't meet them all for a while. _Would they believe me if I told them? And what would happen if they didn't believe me?_ Before he put on his uniform, he checked to see if the katana and briefcase were still in the room. After he was satisfied that neither item had been disturbed, he got dressed, found an umbrella and made his way down the stairs.

Upon making his way into the dining area of the house, he noticed that Nanako had generously decided to make breakfast. And that his uncle had to go to work early for the first of many occasions.

"I'm assuming that Ryo-san has to work late again tonight?" Yu asked.

"Yeah, but there's nothing I can do about that. Especially when dad has to solve a case." Nanako said. She sounded disappointed for want of a better word.

"I know, but it's his job and he's one of the best detectives in Inaba so they do need him. Thanks for making breakfast." Yu replied.

"My school's near yours and you might get lost so would you like to go with me?" Nanako asked. Of course, Yu knew the way but he didn't say anything.

"Sure. That reminds me, did Ryo-san happen to leave me a spare key by any chance?" Yu just wanted to make sure.

"He did. I'll just get that for you." Nanako left the room and returned with an extra key for Yu.

They exited the house and saw a boy with brown hair, brown eyes, headphones and a uniform like Yu's examining a bicycle. Yu instantly recognised him.

"Yosuke?" Yu asked. He looked as Yosuke practically leapt to his feet.

"Wait, you're one of the transfer students right?" Yosuke asked. He didn't quite know how to react to the fact that the silverette somehow knew his name.

"I am. My name's Yu actually. Narukami Yu." Yu said, wanting to introduce himself properly.

"Great. I'd hate to bother you but could you help me fix my bike? I can't figure out what's wrong with it and I've been trying to fix it for about a month." Yosuke explained, hoping that Yu would help him out.

"Sure." Yu agreed.

"Great. You are an absolute life-saver. Seriously, thanks for agreeing to fix my bike." Yosuke said, looking as Yu began to fix his bike. After about ten or twenty minutes, Yu stood up with a triumphant expression on his face.

"I managed to fix it so you're not going to crash your bike into a garbage can and break that DVD of Trial of the Dragon." Yu said jokingly as Yosuke looked at him with a quizzical expression on his face. _Maybe that wasn't the smartest thing to say. I know things that the rest of the team doesn't know so I should probably be a little bit more careful about what I say to them. Still… _

"I'll just forget you said that dude. See you around!" Yosuke said before getting on the bike and pedalling away.

"So are we going now?" Nanako asked impatiently.

"Yes." Yu smiled and nodded, waiting for Nanako to lead the way. Things were going to be getting very interesting.

_Amagi Inn _

Dylan woke up and he wondered if what had happened last night was real. He'd managed to somehow fall into the TV in his room and encountered a strange being that hid itself in blankets of thick fog. What made it really weird though was that Yu somehow knew that it was going to happen which meant that he was either psychic or something else. And Dylan had no clue what it was.

He'd also managed to wake up about ten minutes late and had to hurriedly change into his uniform. The variations that he'd made to it were an Iron Maiden t-shirt that he wore underneath the long-sleeved shirt and a leather jacket because it looked cooler than the issued one. Plus it was high school not prison so it didn't really matter if there were slight variations to the uniform as long as he wore it. He looked around for the backpack that he'd brought with him and took it so he wouldn't forget it along with the umbrella and his room key.

Dylan hurried out of his room at the inn, noticing that Stephen had managed to get up early somehow and was probably eating breakfast or something. He'd made his way to the lobby where he noticed a man in his early to mid or possibly late forties and a woman who was a little bit younger.

"Hey? Do you know where there's food? I'm really hungry. Plus, I think my dad's tab covers food unless that's extra which I totally understand. Or maybe I should've asked for your names first?" Dylan said, looking at the couple to see how they'd react.

"Don't worry, you weren't being impolite. My name's Hikaru by the way and this is my wife, Mariko. And I think that I should have shown you and Stephen where everything was yesterday." Hikaru smiled politely, extending a hand to Dylan who shook it with reluctance.

"Well, I hope that you're enjoying your stay here. Of course, if there's anything that can be done to improve it then please let us know." Mariko added.

"It's been pretty good so far. And it's definitely a nice place. So, would one of you please guide me to a dining area please?" Dylan asked again.

"I'll do it." Hikaru walked away with Dylan following him.

They arrived at a table where Stephen was sitting with a plate of food in front of him. Hikaru had since walked away leaving Dylan and Stephen to their meal.

"This is really fucking good." Stephen said in between mouthfuls.

"Damn right. I kind of hope Yukiko's around because she's supposed to be showing us where our new high school is. And I wouldn't mind getting a good view of her legs and ass again because her legs went on for miles and her ass is a fucking masterpiece." Dylan said.

"Better than Crystal's? Seriously? I have to ask, do hot girls just magically fall onto your lap because you've got money?" Stephen asked, slightly envious of Dylan's appallingly high success rate with girls their age.

"Well yeah. But it's not MY money. And I'm only one mistake away from getting cut off." Dylan replied in between mouthfuls.

They finished eating and carried their plates over to the kitchen, not expecting Yukiko to be there when they got back.

"I'm supposed to show you guys where Yasogami High is so you guys kind of have to hurry up. Um, Stephen, would you mind waiting outside the inn? There's something that I want to discuss with Dylan." Yukiko looked and sounded extremely annoyed.

"Are you upset because I'm late for your guided tour or whatever? Because I'm still a bit jetlagged from flying over here." Dylan yawned loudly and tried to stretch his arms over Yukiko who was having none of it.

"So you think that I'm your booty-call? Did it ever occur to you that SOME people are able to grow up and be responsible?" Yukiko asked, her voice reflecting how annoyed she was at him.

"I thought you were ready to go! And I've been responsible for my own buzz since I was fourteen so HAH!" Dylan responded triumphantly.

"You're such an idiot." Yukiko said before storming away. She wished that he didn't notice her luminescent blush.

"That went well." Dylan muttered sarcastically while following after her.

Stephen was waiting impatiently when he saw Yukiko storm past him before Dylan had exited the inn. Yukiko seemed incredibly angry or upset while Dylan had this vaguely self-satisfied expression on his face.

"I'm just going to assume that your conversation went well." Stephen said nonchalantly.

"Not really. But, there's still time. And Yukiko's feisty and I kind of like that." Dylan replied, grinning widely.

"Whatever. Y'know, I don't think pissing her off is going to be that good an idea. So I guess we'd better get moving." Stephen said, beginning to walk ahead of Dylan.

"I hope our homeroom teacher isn't some bitter asshole who hates the "youth of today" and all that shit because that would really suck." Dylan added.

"Damn right." Stephen answered, as they followed Yukiko to the start of what would become an incredible adventure for both of them.

_Yasogami High_

Yu gave a slightly surprised look at Dylan and Stephen but that was mainly because he didn't think that they'd be so late. Or he didn't remember them being so late but he couldn't decide.

"Have we found out what class we've been assigned to yet?" Dylan and Stephen asked in unison.

"Not yet, but we'll find out soon enough." Yu was right, as a teacher had appeared out of another doorway with a gigantic smile on his face.

"Hey, you guys have been assigned to Class 2-2 and your homeroom teacher's Morooka. I should warn you that he tends to jump to irrational conclusions and falsely assumes that every single one of his students are copulating like rabbits in heat. And he looks like an uglier version of Steve Buscemi without the acting ability." The teacher seemed unable to contain his glee at consigning yet more innocent students to **Morooka Kinshiro's Nonsensical Rants & Bullshit Express**.

Yu seemed overjoyed at this while Dylan and Stephen exchanged a worried glance. It seemed that Yu already knew the way to the room so they decided to follow him.

Much to their surprise, Morooka was late so Dylan and Stephen sat right at the back of the room while Yu sat in the middle.

"Hey Yukiko, have you heard the rumours going around about you and one of the foreign exchange students at the inn?" Chie asked. Chie, incidentally, had brown hair that was cut in a distinctive bowl shape and brown eyes. She was wearing the same uniform that Yukiko was with a bright green jacket acting as a variation on it.

"You mean the rumours about Dylan and me? He's a pig plus he thought I was "ready to go" when all I did was showing him where his room was. And I don't LIKE him or anything." Yukiko trailed off as she realised that she had turned a bright red.

"You're blushing! HAH! But it's great that you opened up your heart again after what happened." Chie said.

"I know what you're thinking but there's no way in hell that he's my type. But, I don't know…. He's just so…" Yukiko trailed off again as Dylan and Stephen walked in along with an unfamiliar silverette.

"The lady doth protest too much!" Chie yelled theatrically just as Dylan and Stephen sat down right at the back of the room.

The conversations that could be heard around the room stopped as Morooka walked in.

"EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM IS A WHORE! Now sit down and shut up while the losers, or should I say new students get off their asses and introduce themselves!" Morooka looked wildly around the room. His introduction was unorthodox but it got students to pay attention to him.

Yu acquiesced while Dylan and Stephen seemed a little bit reluctant. After writing his name on the board in kanji symbols, Yu sat back down in his seat.

"You're kidding right?" Dylan asked.

Dylan and Stephen wrote their names on the board because they didn't have much choice. They went to go and sit down, but Morooka decided to open his big mouth again.

"Well, these two jackasses have been transferred over from New York because Blondie here got in a car accident that killed his girlfriend last year. And they've been arrested a few times for possessing drugs and once for breaking into some poor bastard's holiday chalet in Vermont!" Morooka exclaimed, glowering at Dylan who pushed back his chair and stood up.

"What the fuck's your problem? Listen I might have some mistakes in the past but at least I still have all my teeth! Why are you a teacher if you hate being in a room with students? Just go and be miserable on your own time and stop being such a fucking dick for once in your pathetic, miserable life." Dylan said, walking away from his desk until he stood face to face with Morooka.

"Sit down Blake. You don't want to get detention on your first day, do you?" Morooka growled, glowering at Dylan as he walked back to his desk.

"What a fucking asshole. He makes our homeroom teacher back home look like a ray of goddamn sunshine." Stephen whispered to Dylan.

"Blake, take your shit and go sit beside Amagi." Morooka didn't need to look in Dylan's general direction.

Dylan looked at Yukiko and came to the conclusion that she was beautiful when she wasn't angry and also realised that he might have misjudged her.

"As long as I'm around, you students are going to be as pure as the driven snow. Oh, and society's gone to shit. All you young people have your heads buried in your smartphones and your Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and violent videogames and whatever. Bunch of perverted shitheads!" Morooka ranted on loudly.

Dylan and Stephen both thought that it would've been better if they'd just ditched school and hung around Inaba instead.

"Regular lectures tomorrow!" Morooka announced. As if his ad hominem rants could be described as being regular.

"**All teachers and faculty please report to the faculty office for a brief meeting. All students are to stay in their classrooms and are not leaving until further notice is given." **A voice resounded over the PA.

Morooka left in a hurry, leaving the students to talk amongst themselves.

"So does this kind of thing happen often?" Dylan asked, wondering if Inaba was really different from being back home.

"It doesn't." Chie replied.

Yu had made his way over to the impromptu quartet.

"Hey, you're Narukami Yu right?" Chie and Yukiko asked.

"I am." Yu replied, remembering everything. But he wasn't about to let the rest of the group know that.

"Satonaka Chie." Chie smiled and extended a hand to Yu who shook it.

"Amagi Yukiko." Yukiko added before extending her hand to Yu as well.

"**All students can now leave the school. Be advised that there is still a police presence in the School Zone and we'd kindly request that you not disturb the authorities."** The PA crackled back into life like some sort of broken down machine that had been miraculously repaired.

"Hey Chie, I just want to give this DVD back." Yosuke handed Chie a DVD case that said Trial of the Dragon on it.

Chie opened the DVD case and smiled happily as she saw that the DVD was in perfect condition.

They walked out of the classroom and got down near the gate when a wan looking boy around their age approached Yukiko.

"Hey Yuki, do you want to go on a date with me?" The boy gazed at Yukiko expectantly.

"No." Yukiko said emphatically.

"Oh, so Blondie's good enough for you but I'm not?" The boy was about to get in Yukiko's face but Dylan shoved him back.

"I'm only going to say this once, leave her alone and walk away or I'm going to kick your ass. And I don't think you want the embarrassment. So what's it going to be?" Dylan asked.

"Fuck off gaijin, you don't tell…." The boy was cut off by Dylan punching him hard in the stomach. The punch caused him to almost double up before he stood up again and attempted to try and hit Dylan back.

"Are you fucking kidding? STAY! THE! FUCK! DOWN!" Dylan yelled before tackling the boy to the ground and kneeling on his chest as well as punching him in the face.

Stephen pulled Dylan off the boy before he could do any more damage, allowing the wan-looking boy to get away. Plus, people were beginning to stare.

"What on earth was that about?" Yukiko pretended to sound confused by the wan-looking boy's intentions.

"Well, he tried to ask you out but your knight in shining armour got in the way and rescued you." Chie replied.

"He's not my knight in shining armour, he's an idiot." Yukiko said sarcastically, rolling her eyes in Dylan's general direction.

"Good luck buddy, you're going to need it!" Yosuke said, patting Dylan on the shoulder before walking to his bike.

"Well, I'm not going to ask you out." Dylan joked.

"That's seriously not as funny as you make it sound." Yukiko huffed.

Yosuke stifled a chuckle at their bickering before biking away.

_Samegawa Flood Plain, School Zone_

The fog was beginning to spread, covering Inaba in a darkly unnatural blanket.

Adachi smiled in triumph as he looked up at the antenna where he had hung Mayumi's body like some condemned animal in a slaughterhouse.

"Nametame Taro you fool. You didn't think that I'd just **let her go** now do you? She wasn't yours to take, but, she went willingly didn't she? Because you had power? Was that it?" Adachi spat.

Everything had been leading up to this moment. The files on Project SHADOW that he had stolen were just the tip of the iceberg. Nobody had any idea what he could do with that information, or even what he had already done with it.

"This world is full of bitches and whores just like you Mayumi. My one regret is that you didn't live to see the world end." Adachi said, addressing the corpse that was suspended somewhere above him.

He grinned like a madman as he called for backup on his cell-phone.

"Hey, it's Adachi, I've just found a body and it's looking pretty bad. I'd like to warn you that the killer might still be out there and he's very dangerous." Adachi spoke into his cell-phone, suppressing the triumph in his voice.

He could hear the sirens in the distance and walked away from the antenna.

Adachi looked at a group of teenagers, one of them having silver-grey hair and smiled. _Well, everyone still thinks I'm a rookie? It's time that I act like a rookie._

He ran past them and vomited, feigning disgust at his actions.

"Adachi, when are you going to stop acting like a rookie? We've got to canvas the neighbourhood and check for evidence." Dojima said.

Adachi absolutely hated Dojima. But, he couldn't do anything about that. YET.

"Yu? What are you doing here? I appreciate your interest in my work, but you need to be more careful." Dojima chided his nephew.

"I'm sorry." Yu said, looking a little disappointed with himself. _I couldn't save Yamano. But, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few and I have to accept that. Even if I don't necessarily want to. I wish that it wasn't so difficult._

"Look, I'm glad that you've managed to make friends, but it's not safe at the moment." Dojima said.

"See you tomorrow." Yu said before walking away.

"Bye Yukiko!" Chie waved goodbye to Yukiko as she walked away from the group.

"This is more like it." Dylan joked.

"Oh god." Stephen said, putting his left hand to his head.

"That was just in remarkably bad taste, even for you. Maybe we'd better just get going." Yukiko said as she walked away, waiting for the duo to walk after her.

_Dojima Residence_

Yu had followed his uncle's instructions and went back to the house.

"Dad has to work late again." Nanako said, sounding disappointed.

"I know. But, he has to investigate what caused the death of the victim, and make sure that more people aren't going to end up dead." Yu explained. There was more that he wanted to say, but he didn't think that Nanako would understand.

"I guess." Nanako said, the disappointment still evident.

Yu heard a knock on the door and went to go answer it. Standing before him was a girl with chin-length black hair and green eyes. She wore a blue hat, a white sleeveless shirt with a short black necktie and a chequered skirt with a golden belt buckle as well as boots, stockings, protective sleeves and an officer's cap. Yu couldn't quite place it, but the girl was familiar to him.

"Marie?" Yu asked, surprised to see her outside of the Velvet Room.

"Hey. Igor said that I should stop by. And he also told me to tell you that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. But you shouldn't let that stop you from trying to make things better for everyone else." Marie said.

"You don't need to worry because I'm not planning to." Yu replied.

"But there's one other thing. You have to convince Dylan of everything because he doesn't seem to understand the gravity of the situation. If anything, he sounds WORSE this time." Marie seemed worried, and was hoping that Yu would be able to convince the blonde or the plan would've been for nothing.

"What makes you think that I can convince him?" Yu asked.

"You're the hero, so it's your job. And it's not like impossible odds have ever stopped you before." Marie reassured Yu.

"Did Igor ever tell you what happened to guests of the Velvet Room who died before their missions were completed?" Yu asked.

"He told me that any guest of the Velvet Room who died before their mission was completed would have their souls bound to the Velvet Room and they'd either find another way to finish the mission or help someone else on his or her own journey. It's difficult to explain when Igor's the one who's not explaining it." Marie responded.

"I wonder why he didn't just tell me then." Yu sounded a little disappointed.

"He knew what would happen if he told you, and he knew that you wouldn't have agreed to do it." Marie was trying to sound comforting.

"That I wouldn't do it?" Yu asked. He lowered his gaze as he thought about everything that would happen if things progressed as they had before.

"I guess. Look, I'd better get going. Be seeing you." Marie said before leaning in and kissing Yu on his left cheek.

Yu watched as Marie left the house. _Maybe things will work out this time._

_Amagi Inn_

"Hey, Steve, you wouldn't mind letting Yukiko and I talk?" Dylan asked. They had gotten back to the inn after Yu's uncle had told them to leave the crime scene because it wasn't safe.

Stephen retreated inside the inn leaving Dylan and Yukiko standing beside the steps.

"So what is it you want to talk to me about?" Yukiko asked.

"Look, I'm sorry if I offended you earlier. It's just that I'm used to girls like you being more open back home. But it's no excuse for how I acted." Dylan sounded more sheepish than he normally did.

"I know. I just want to say that while I understand why there's rumours about us, please don't use this conversation as a way of "trying to get in my pants" as you'd say." Yukiko smiled at him.

"You're the one who suggested it, not me. But if you wanted to, I could probably run out and buy some scented candles and body oil." Dylan said, doing an extremely suggestive hip-centric dance.

"In your dreams pal." Yukiko laughed despite being unable to hide her blushes at the thought.

"So if there's anything your folks need help with will you let me know?" Dylan asked changing the subject slightly.

"I will." Yukiko smiled before she walked away.

Dylan walked back to his room and saw Stephen standing in the middle of the hallway.

"Hey, I got an email from Travis and he's compiled all the best songs "Dead for Dead" recorded as part of a demo CD and he's sent them out yesterday. If everything goes well then we've got some fun times ahead over the summer." Stephen said, sounding incredibly enthusiastic about the possibility of their band getting a deal or a spot supporting another band.

"I think there's a Battle of the Bands contest in Okina that runs during the summer. Maybe there'll be an A&R person or a talent scout or something. Not to mention all the honeys." Dylan smiled at the thought.

"What about Yukiko?" Stephen asked.

"I'll figure something out. But then again, it's not like we'll be exclusive by then." Dylan replied and he wasn't sure what he'd do if they were exclusive.

"Yeah. Hey, Travis emailed the MP3 version of the demo album and the track listings for it. Maybe we should just listen to it." Stephen suggested.

"Why not? It's not like there's anything else to do around here." Dylan added, forgetting that the dead body would most likely lead to their stay in Inaba becoming a lot more interesting over the next eight to eleven months.

After having listened to the demo album, Stephen left, leaving Dylan by himself. He wondered if the dead body was an omen of things to come and if he was better off going somewhere that was a little bit less quiet.

The TV was off, but he could see something so he put his hand against the screen. What he wasn't expecting was his hand to be drawn into it and he quickly withdrew his hand.

"Okay. I've got nothing to worry about, but, let's just try that one again." Dylan said, putting his hand against the TV again and slowly letting the TV pull him in.

Dylan stepped forward so that he could plunge in and he jumped, not knowing if he'd end up in the same place he ended up the last time. _One way to find out._

_Twisted Shopping District, Mayonaka _

Dylan had fallen into whatever this place was and wasn't sure if it was the same as the white expanse he ended up in yesterday. If it was the same place then the white expanse had been replaced with a perfect replica of Inaba.

"Anybody out there?" Dylan asked, looking around to see if there was any signs of life.

What he did see though, was a blue-furred bear in a red and white jumpsuit who almost immediately hurried over to him as the bear had recognised him for some unknown reason.

"Who are you?" Dylan asked, looking at the bear with a slightly shocked expression.

"I'm Teddie! You must be the other Dylan. But it's bear-y dangerous to be here." Teddie said, gently chiding Dylan who just seemed perplexed by everything.

"What's that supposed to mean? And why is it so dangerous?" Dylan asked.

"Well, I'm not the one who's most able to explain that. But, the grizzlies are on the prowl and they're bear-y dangerous and don't take kindly to any interlopers." Teddie explained.

"How do I know that you're not a grizzly?" Dylan asked, readying himself to make a move if Teddie was a "grizzly" or whatever the things that inhabited this place were called.

"I just want to live here in peace." Teddie was about to say something else but he could smell something.

They looked and could see a black ooze moving inexorably out of the buildings and forming into shapes. These shapes were a weird combination of pink and black and had long tongues jutting out of their mouths like some sort of grotesque sculpture. And they were moving quickly towards Dylan and Teddie.

"They know you're here and they're ready to feed on your emotions and then kill you!" Teddie exclaimed.

"That's not even the weirdest thing that's happened since I got here. But, it's been a nice life though." Dylan said as he prepared for his inevitable death.

However, a blonde who looked remarkably like him had appeared and thrown an axe at one of the strange creatures. This had caused it to disappear while also angering the creatures that still remained.

"Okay, we've got to go! Now!" The blonde shouted, running into one of the buildings. Dylan and Teddie had no choice but to follow him in.

"Who are you?" Dylan asked.

"You probably won't believe me, but I'm your future self." Future Dylan replied.

"So, how do you die? Or, how do I die?" Dylan wanted to make absolutely sure that all of this was real and not some sort of hoax.

"I get shot about eight months from now and that's really all I can tell you right now." Future Dylan responded, not wanting to worry his past self.

"Oh right, and you're like Obi-Wan Kenobi right?" Dylan joked, unaware of how true the comparison was going to be.

"If you want to be technical about it, then yes." Future Dylan smiled at his past self's ability to make jokes in a situation like this.

"That's bear-y nice, but the grizzlies are going to find you so you'd better get going." Teddie interrupted.

"Yeah." Future Dylan agreed with Teddie.

"Okay." Teddie summoned two TVs and Dylan jumped into one of them.

What would happen now was anyone's guess. Teddie just hoped that Dylan's meeting his future self would spur him on to at least consider growing up.


	5. Chapter 3: Mystery At Midnight

**Chapter 3: Mystery at Midnight **

**April 13, 2011**

_The Great Seal, Dreamscape _

Dylan was standing in the middle of some sort of blank expanse and there was nothing around for miles before he saw a bearded man wearing a three-piece suit and a bowler hat walking towards him. After what seemed like an age, the bearded man stood in front of him with an expression of resigned surprise on his face.

"**Who are you?"** The bearded man asked, wondering what Dylan would do next.

"My name's Dylan? Why?" Dylan asked.

"**I'm Levi. I just wanted to make sure that you aren't a threat. Although, I think that one of the occupants of this place has summoned you here. Would you like me to guide you to him?"** Levi said kindly.

Dylan simply nodded in agreement before he followed Levi across the expanse.

"So do you know what this place is called?" Dylan asked, following behind Levi.

"**It's the Great Seal, the thing that keeps Erebus from reuniting with Nyx and bringing about The Fall. Of course, one of the people that you're replacing is here to prevent such an event and my brothers and I are here in case he fails."** Levi sounded rather brusque, and he wondered if there was a mistake in regards of who was replacing Minato.

"Oh well, my older brother Chase was one of the people who helped him seal Nyx." Dylan replied.

"**Assisting one of the Wild Cards is very different from being a Wild Card."** Levi said.

"So, you're not even going to explain why? It's almost as if I'm being cut out of the loop a little bit. But you're the weird seal-guardian person so I guess you have your reasons." Dylan said.

"**Something like that." **Levi didn't really say much else.

Their conversation ceased, as they had finally managed to find the person they were looking for.

"**Don't worry, you're not going to be stuck here. As a matter of fact, when Minato has said everything that he wants to say, then you will leave. And not a moment before."** Levi said, before he left.

The boy had dark blue hair and cloudy grey eyes. He was also wearing a school uniform and had a pair of headphones around his neck.

"Don't mind Levi. He and his brothers are only here to protect the Seal in case I fail to protect it myself. Or if Erebus somehow manages to break through." The blue-haired boy, or rather young man, said.

"Wait, you're Minato right? My older brother was a member of SEES, and he's dating your sister. Which probably makes us family." Dylan said, but Minato didn't seem particularly amused.

"Wonderful." Minato responded in possibly the most sarcastic way possible.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you or anything. So, why am I here? It's just that Levi refused to tell me and I'm not sure if any of his brothers will be all that forthcoming when they show up." Dylan said.

"Well, you're here because you're one of the Wild Cards. Which means that you can not only use multiple Personas but you can also save the world if you so choose." Minato said, smiling slightly.

"Save the world from what?" Dylan asked.

"Shadows and the entities that can control them. Apart from Nyx and Erebus, there have been two previous incident involving Shadows and I think that there's going to be another one." Minato briefly explained, not wanting to scare Dylan.

"Well, I did fall through the TV in my room, so that'd make sense." Dylan said, unaware that he sounded remarkably relaxed about the possibility that there could be Shadows.

"It appears that the Shadows have a new conduit to find victims now." Minato replied, not wanting to let Dylan know that he knew more than he was willing to say.

"And the reporter woman was the first?" Dylan asked.

"Yes, and you have to remain extremely vigilant." Minato remarked.

"Or there's a good chance that someone else might die?" Dylan asked.

"You've finally figured it out! Hooray!" Minato said sarcastically. He was also clapping at how apparently clueless Dylan was about all this.

"So what do I do now?" Dylan asked.

"You wait. I think you should get going." Minato replied.

Dylan didn't need to say anything else, so he walked away from Minato as everything slowly began to fade away.

_Amagi Inn_

Dylan had woken up but at least he'd remembered to set his alarm instead of having to wake up late and scramble to get ready quickly. He'd remembered having a dream where he was in the Great Seal, and he had a few dreams about Yukiko oddly enough. A lot of those dreams had featured himself and Yukiko in various states of undress and he was present in every one of those dreams. He could feel her skin, her touch and everything else but he didn't really think anything of those dreams. Not yet.

He got out of bed and reached for his uniform along with a Black Label Society t-shirt and a leather jacket. Dylan slowly got dressed while leaving the leather jacket for last.

After leaving the room, he went into the hall and walked to the lobby of the inn where he found Stephen waiting for him.

"One of the A&R guys who got our demo album told Travis and the rest of the guys that he liked it and he's flying out to see us in the summer during that battle of the bands thing in Okina. Oh and we MIGHT be getting a professional video shoot as well!" Stephen said, sounding positively jubilant.

"Hell yes!" Dylan exclaimed.

They high-fived but they stopped their celebrations as Yukiko had arrived.

"So you two finally managed to adjust to Inaba time then?" Yukiko asked.

"Damn right. But, I've got something else that could use some adjusting babe. How about it?" Dylan grinned.

"This again? I thought you'd realise that your lines didn't work by now." Yukiko replied, smiling despite herself.

"It wouldn't hurt to try them out though. Speaking of which, I've got something for you to try out! Kidding!" Dylan looked at Yukiko who wordlessly warned him to stop talking for the moment.

"I hope you guys aren't going to be like this for the whole year." Stephen grumbled.

"We won't!" Dylan and Yukiko exclaimed in unison.

"I don't believe you. It's almost as if you're dancing around each other without actually making a move." Stephen teased, almost laughing at how Dylan and Yukiko were reacting to that statement.

"You're right, but I'd like to be doing more than dance with her." Dylan responded, forgetting that Yukiko was practically standing next to him.

"Ugh. You're just insufferable." Yukiko huffed before she stormed out.

"So that went well." Stephen said.

"You think? Please tell me how that could've gone well." Dylan replied sarcastically.

"Well, I'm guessing that she likes you." Stephen replied.

"I don't think so. Besides, even if she did, I wouldn't be looking for anything serious yet. Plus, I want to have as much as possible while we're still here." Dylan said.

"What happened to not making any mistakes?" Stephen asked.

"They're not going to be huge mistakes. Plus, I'm not going to be keeping my dad in the loop about anything." Dylan smiled.

"Oh right, because that's going to work. You do know that the principal's got a huge file on both of us yeah?" Stephen wondered.

"So? Since when did you care about not getting into trouble so much?" Dylan asked, wondering why Stephen seemed so adamant about not getting into trouble.

"Because your dad will just make you go somewhere else and then I'll be stuck here by myself." Stephen replied, perhaps admitting that he was worried about Dylan.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to overdose on painkillers again. I mean, I didn't get my stomach pumped, but it could've been a pretty bad situation." Dylan sighed.

"Good. Look, let's just make the best of this alright." Stephen said, before patting Dylan on the back and following Yukiko who was probably far ahead of them.

Dylan decided to follow them, hoping that Morooka or King Moron as he was also known wasn't going to start ranting on about something utterly irrelevant to the class again.

_Dojima Residence _

Yu wondered if he had truly done the right thing by not telling the others the truth about how he knew what was going to happen. If he did, then he wasn't sure if they were going to believe him especially Dylan. Another thing that bothered him was being told that he couldn't save everyone and that the same people who died before had to die like they had died before so that things wouldn't change too much.

Of course, Yu had remembered Marie too. More specifically, he remembered that he didn't have the chance to tell her how he really felt about her so there was one thing that he had to change. And that was before he even considered how Yukiko and Dylan would even work now and he wondered if they actually would.

He checked to make sure that the katana and the silver briefcase containing the Plume of Dusk were safe in his room before going down the stairs.

Yu looked to see a table with plates of food on it and Nanako sitting by one of them.

"You okay?" Nanako asked.

"I'm fine." Yu replied, not wanting to worry his cousin.

"Dad's got that case, so he's gone to work." Nanako said, sounding quite disappointed.

Yu knew exactly what she was referring to but he decided against saying anything. He didn't know if Nanako was ready for that kind of information but he did know that he had to tell her and Dojima everything at some point.

"Thanks for making breakfast." Yu said.

"You're welcome!" Nanako smiled.

After they had eaten and cleared away their plates, Yu had left, knowing that his cousin would be able to find her own way.

Yu looked and he saw Yosuke cycle past him before he stopped.

"Hey, do you want a lift? This bike's going great since you fixed it!" Yosuke said.

"Sure. I'm probably going to be running late." Yu replied, before hopping on the back of the bike.

_Yasogami High_

"It's Yamano's own fault she's dead. Who the hell does she think she is? Nametame was going to have a great career in politics but he doesn't have one now because she's dead and he's probably been blamed for her death anyway. What a whore." Morooka was ranting on about Yamano's death to anybody who'd listen, and the class barely tolerated it. Dylan was gradually becoming more and more upset at it as well.

"Who the fuck do you think you are? You want to start judging somebody over one goddamn mistake? Listen Bucky, I don't know why you're talking shit when you should be teaching. What a fucking prick" Dylan said, unaware that Morooka's face had turned a very bright purple in rage.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Morooka exploded.

"You want to judge someone because you're a bitter, talentless piece of shit who's consigned yourself to a classroom full of people who don't care what you have to say about anything? Who died and made you the arbiter of morality?" Dylan asked, spreading his arms widely in a "come at me" gesture. He could almost hear some of the class clapping at him so he stood up and bowed.

"Are you really that stupid Blake? Do you REALLY want me to march your sorry ass down to the principal's office? Do you? HUH?!" Morooka threatened.

"Nope! I wouldn't give you the satisfaction dude." Dylan replied.

After this very pointed exchange, Morooka finally returned to doing his job.

"Who was it who said that a friend is "a single soul dwelling within two bodies"? Anybody?" Morooka asked, looking around at everyone in the room.

"That'd be Aristotle jackass." Dylan responded while raising his hand in a mocking fashion.

"I'm warning you Blake, one more snide remark like that, and you're getting detention." Morooka hit back, smiling at the fact that somebody was able to stand up to him.

The day had managed to progress without event after that little exchange.

"Hey, do you guys want to hang out later?" Yosuke asked. Yu, Dylan and Stephen all nodded back.

"So, can I hang out with you guys?" Chie wondered.

"Fine." Yosuke replied, glad that there'd be someone else to talk to besides Yu and the transfer students.

"Well, there's free steak!" Chie exclaimed, informing Yukiko of this fact, wondering if she'd agree. But that was mainly because Chie wondered if she'd want to jump Dylan's bones or something to that effect.

"No thanks. I don't really want to risk gaining weight plus the inn's getting really busy. And Dylan's an ass." Yukiko said, turning red at the mention of Dylan's name.

"You're practically a ten. Besides, I really want to get another look at your ass." Dylan was about to say something else but he thought better of it.

"Oh crap." Yu muttered.

"I'm sorry?" Yukiko said, her eyes practically narrowing in rage.

"You've got a nice ass, and the rest of you isn't bad either. Learn to take a compliment woman! And yeah, I kind of told your dad that I'd be able to help at the inn if he'd let me. Oh and it'd be nice if you gave me your number too. For business AND pleasure." Dylan said.

"Why don't you two love-birds just lock yourselves in an empty room for crying out loud?" Yu asked.

"SHUT UP! Dylan and Yukiko shouted in unison, almost deafening Yu.

"I'm guessing that's a "no" on all fronts then? That's a shame because I was really rooting for you dude." Yosuke said, giving Dylan a thumbs up.

"YES. I'll see you around Chie. And Dylan, please, try not to be such a jackass. It might work back in New York, but I'm different to the usual dumb cheerleaders that you get." Yukiko said sarcastically, specifically to Dylan before leaving.

"Whoa." Stephen said, sounding impressed at Yukiko's ability to handle Dylan's lines.

"Shut up!" Dylan yelled in attempt to hide how red his face was getting.

_Junes Food Court_

"Don't worry, I'll spot you for the steaks. Besides, I don't need to worry about money so just sit tight okay." Dylan said.

"That's awfully generous of you. But thanks, I wasn't sure if I was getting paid today." Yosuke explained.

"I'm not complaining but couldn't we have gone someplace else?" Chie asked.

Dylan seemed vaguely uncomfortable for some reason and Yu was the only person who knew why.

"My father moved the family here about 7 months ago from Tokyo because he got a job. Some big shot in New York had invested heavily in the Junes chain and there were a lot of new jobs going." Yosuke shrugged his shoulders as if that explained it.

"Yeah, well, that big shot doesn't seem to care about the little guy." Chie said.

"Look, it's not Junes' fault that the shopping district is suffering." Yosuke interjected.

"Uh, my dad was the one who invested money in Junes. And I'm sorry if it's negatively affected people." Dylan said, sounding much more subdued than he'd been that day. He was also quite relieved when Chie and Yosuke didn't ask him any further questions on the subject.

The conversation slowed to a slow crawl as a girl about a year older than them with brown hair and an apron walked over to them.

"Um hey Saki-senpai!" Yosuke sort of stammered, turning a bright red as he did.

"So I'm guessing that he likes her right?" Yu whispered.

"He does. That's Konishi Saki and her father runs the liquor store in the shopping district." Chie said.

"So you guys are the transfer students?" Saki asked, batting her eyes at Yu, Dylan and Stephen.

"Oh fucking hell." Stephen replied, lowering his head slightly.

"What's with him? Oh, Hana-Chan should be lucky that he's got such good friends! He can be such a loser some times. I'd better get back to work! Busy, busy, busy, busy!" Saki flounced away.

"That didn't go well at all. I'd better go see if she's okay. Sorry guys." Yosuke apologized profusely before leaving the group.

The group had decided to split up and go their separate ways after that. Dylan and Stephen were going to go and look around Junes for a little bit.

_Dojima Residence_

Yu was surprised to find Dojima at home, but that surprise soon turned to a feeling of dread.

"So, that's where they found her right?" Yu asked, pretending to play dumb.

"Well, they're interviewing the person who found Yamano, and I really hoped that the press didn't do it because they tend to twist everything around in cases like this. It just makes my job more difficult." Dojima sighed.

Yu sighed, pushing the memories of what was going to happen to one side as informing Dojima of them would be counterproductive especially when he'd only been there for two days. Well, two days if he didn't count the eight months he'd spent in Inaba before well….

_Amagi Inn_

Yukiko wondered if Chie was right about how she felt about Dylan. Okay, he might have been attractive but he had no sense of responsibility whatsoever. Or maybe he just didn't care what anyone else would think about him. She'd wondered if he was being selfish, but then again it wasn't necessarily her business.

She checked her phone and could see a text from Chie.

**Yukiko: So, how was the steak?**

**Chie: Fine, Dylan basically covered Yosuke's tab.**

**Yukiko: Really? Oh, he's one of THOSE kinds of people?**

**Chie: Why are you so harsh on him anyway? He's nicer than Takeru was.**

**Yukiko: Because he's an idiot. And he doesn't care about anybody but himself.**

**Chie: So? You LIKE him and you don't want to admit it.**

**Yukiko: So what if I do?**

**Chie: Why do you think he's been hitting on you?**

**Yukiko: To get a reaction? Why else?**

**Chie: Forget about it. **

**Yukiko: Fine. He's not like some of the other boys our age though.**

**Chie: Oh, like that wasn't obvious.**

**Yukiko: Do you want to help or not?**

**Chie: Whoops! Sorry…. **

**Yukiko: Fine! I'd better get back to work.**

**Chie: Goodnight! **

**Yukiko: Goodnight!**

Yukiko genuinely had no idea what to think regarding Dylan. Maybe there was a nice person beneath all the bluster and macho bullshit? She surmised that he was only acting the way he was because Stephen would say something if he wasn't and Dylan was used to acting a certain way anyway.

She looked and she saw Dylan leaning against a wall. He was wearing the same shoes he was wearing earlier and ripped jeans along with the same t-shirt that he had worn previously.

"What do you want?" Yukiko asked.

"Nothing. I just wanted to apologise if I was out of line earlier." Dylan said, shrugging his shoulders in a display of nonchalance.

"You don't need to keep apologizing. If you want to be an idiot then that's your business." Yukiko replied.

"Oh, sorry if I'm doing something NICE. God damn. Hey, maybe you should be nicer if you want to find your prince!" Dylan joked, unaware of Yukiko's face turning progressively redder.

"So what? You think that YOU'RE my prince? Seriously? Do you have anything better to do other than be an utter and complete jackass?" Yukiko asked.

"I was just trying to be friendly!" Dylan responded.

"Does your definition of friendly involve you trying to get in my pants?" Yukiko queried.

"Aye Caramba!" Dylan said, throwing his hands in the air in exasperation.

"Whatever! I don't think it's really relevant. I'll see you tomorrow. Okay?" Yukiko said, sounding annoyed at Dylan's attempts to either make conversation or hit on her.

"Oh. Well then, I'll see you tomorrow then milady." Dylan replied before mock-bowing in front of her before getting out of the room.

_So what does Dylan feel for me? And more importantly, do I actually like him? Or is it just some hormonal thing? _Yukiko sighed, unsure as to what the answer was going to be.

_Dojima Residence_

Yu saw Saki on the TV and she sounded like she was in pain. However, he knew that there was nothing that he could've done to help her and he accepted that fact reluctantly.

What would he tell the others? That he knew that Saki was going to die and didn't do anything to help her?

He didn't know if Dylan would end up doing the same thing if he'd remembered everything or even if anything his future self said to him had gotten through to him.

Yu looked as the TV briefly flickered to life before he saw Saki again. She was writhing around in pain and screaming for someone to help her.

Yu didn't put his hand against the TV because he wanted to be careful. Specifically, he wanted to be careful of dying upon his re-entry to the other world and thus kyboshing the mission. He decided to wait until the following day and went to bed.


	6. Chapter 4: Contact

**Chapter 4: Contact**

**April 14, 2011**

_Dreamscape _

Dylan was dreaming, but he wasn't at the Great Seal again because Minato didn't have anything new to say to him. He was in his room at the inn and Yukiko was standing right in front of him. Oh, and she was wearing a black PVC jumpsuit that was zipped halfway down and a bright red wig.

"You've been a bad boy Dylan-kun!" Yukiko purred.

"So, what are you going to do about it?" Dylan asked.

"Why don't you let me show you?" Yukiko replied, kissing Dylan on the lips.

They kissed for about ten minutes, with his hands firmly gripping her hips before moving down to her ass, or rather her lower back, with the kiss gradually beginning to deepen. However, they broke the kiss as Yukiko gently pushed Dylan down to the bed.

"You know, you don't have to go through this much trouble just to surprise me." Dylan said, smiling.

"I couldn't just tell you that now could I?" Yukiko asked, positioning herself so that she was sitting or kneeling down on Dylan's lap.

"I'm glad you didn't." Dylan replied before gently drawing her closer to him and kissing her on the neck.

"Me too. So, do you want to get more comfortable?" Yukiko asked.

"Yeah." Dylan said, leaning back on the bed and looking at Yukiko as she leaned over him.

They kissed a little bit more and Yukiko took off his t-shirt before taking off his belt. She stood up and allowed him time to place his jeans on the floor.

"Well, we've got a few hours to kill so how about it?" Yukiko asked, smiling at him.

"I like the way you think!" Dylan said, kissing her as he began helping her out of the jumpsuit leaving very little to his imagination in the process.

"Well? I don't have all day you know." She said, waiting for Dylan to get into a similar state of undress.

It was almost as if he was in the dream and could feel her soft, warm skin against his own, and their bodies moving in perfect time.

"C'mon!" Yukiko moaned in his left ear, certain that Dylan was about to... But he wasn't expecting for things to change from that perfect moment. Or rather he didn't WANT them to.

He looked as he had jumped from an incredibly enjoyable dream to a different dream entirely. Yukiko was gone, there was something else going on.

Dylan looked up again and he could see a familiar looking brown-haired girl hanging from a telephone pole with blood dripping down from the various wounds on her body.

"What the hell?" Dylan wondered aloud, wondering who or what could do such a thing.

"That, my friend, is the second victim." Future Dylan said, looking up at the now dead Saki Konishi.

"I'd have guessed as much by myself. But why kill somebody like this? It's fucked up. I mean, what would possess somebody to do something like this?" Dylan asked.

"What makes it worse is that whoever's responsible is still in Inaba. Of course, you wouldn't believe me if I told you anyway." Future Dylan replied.

"Actually, one of the detectives investigating the first murder got sick and had to leave pretty quickly. I wonder why." Dylan said.

Both Dylan and his future self, had lapsed into a sort of uncomfortable silence.

"Like I told you before, you've got to figure it out sooner rather than later." Future Dylan said, before fading away himself.

And that was when everything faded to black.

_Amagi Inn _

Dylan woke up with a pounding headache and felt like he'd been hit by a bus. First, he'd managed to have an X-rated dream about Yukiko followed by a particularly unsettling vision. If he was thinking clearly, he'd have said that he had a bad feeling, which would have been completely true.

After getting dressed, a process that took longer for some odd reason thanks to his headache, he sat down on the edge of the bed and reached for the remote. He needed to make sure that his dream or his vision was actually correct and what better way than by switching on the news.

"**There has been a new development in the ongoing investigation into the Hanged Man murders. The most recent victim has been named as Konishi Saki, and she was the person who found the previous victim. Please be advised, the Hanged Man killer is very dangerous and should not be approached. Konishi Saki was an employee in the Inaba branch of the Junes chain of supermarkets in which the Chairman and CEO of Blake Consolidated, Gregory Blake, has invested large amounts of money. Due to a deal brokered about two or three days ago, Mr Blake is now a majority shareholder in Junes and there is much speculation as to how this might be connected to the death of the second victim." **The reporter announced, making it sound as if the case wasn't shocking when it was.

"Why am I not surprised? I wonder what kind of bullshit Dad's going to spin now." Dylan muttered bitterly, looking at the TV he saw his father looking angrier than he'd ever seen him.

"**I find it most distasteful that anyone would link me or my company to the death of that poor girl in Inaba. What you people fail to realise is that I have to go back to the shareholders of Blake Consolidated as well as the board of the company and explain to them that company profits will take a dive because some asshole forgot to get his facts right. If I find out that there's any erroneous links being made between my company and the investigation into the Hanged Man murders than I will personally sue each and every one of you. And believe me when I say it, my lawyers are some of the best you could find and they will rip you apart. This press conference is over."** Gregory, or rather Dad, said coldly as he left the press conference with cameras flashing behind him as he walked further away.

"I can't believe it. He's still trying to save his own skin. Good to know that some things never change." Dylan said as he turned off the TV.

After he reached for his bag, leather jacket and room key, he left his room and made his way over to the lobby. Dylan looked over and noticed Yukiko standing in the middle of the lobby by herself.

"Hey. Look, I just want to apologize if I crossed a line with you yesterday. It's just that I'm used to being a certain way around people, particularly girls, and I'm sorry if I offended you." Dylan said.

"Apology accepted. I was kind of expecting you to be a little bit different. Did you see the news?" Yukiko asked, changing the subject of conversation.

"I did. Yeah, that guy who was being interviewed after the report was my dad. And yes, he is as viciously unpleasant in real life. Plus, I'd be feeling really sorry for Yosuke after hearing about Saki's death in that way." Dylan sighed.

"Did he tell you about his crush on Saki-Senpai?" Yukiko asked, looking vaguely surprised at how Dylan would know about such a thing. _Maybe he's not as immature as I thought he was_.

"Sort of." Dylan said, giving Yukiko a vague shrug of his shoulders.

"I didn't know that you cared about anyone else but yourself. I think I'd almost prefer if you were like this more often. But I wouldn't want you to change on my account though." Yukiko was almost laughing at the thought of changing Dylan.

"I guess you're right." Dylan said, about to say something else before Stephen had finally arrived.

"Sorry I'm late and I hope I didn't interrupt anything." Stephen joked.

"What do you think?!" Dylan and Yukiko asked in unison.

"Uh, whoops. Hey, we'd better get going or we're all going to be late." Stephen said, making a beeline to the door. Dylan and Yukiko looked at each other, blushed and walked out separately.

_Dojima Residence_

Yu looked at the TV and could see the coverage surrounding Saki's body being found hanging from a telephone pole. He looked away as he knew that even though he could have done something, there wasn't that much he could have done.

"You okay?" Nanako asked, looking at him with concern.

"I'm fine. Just experiencing a little bit of Deja-vu, that's all. I'll explain later alright." Yu responded.

Yu had decided to let the subject drop and he didn't think that Nanako would ask him a follow up question on the subject.

"Are you worried about the body being found? The report said that the culprit's still in Inaba." Nanako said, surprising Yu with her insight.

"I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't worried. We're just going to have to be careful, that's all." Yu replied.

"I guess. Dad's going to be working late again tonight because of the case." Nanako was still disappointed about that but there was nothing that Yu could've done about that.

He knew that today was going to be another momentous day, when everything would finally be set in motion and the true mystery would finally begin. With that thought in mind, he opened the door and waited until Nanako exited before leaving himself and locking the door behind him. Yu knew that he had to keep quiet about everything until it was appropriate for him to tell the rest of the group.

_Yasogami High_

"So, I wonder why they called an assembly now of all times?" Chie asked. She, like everyone else in the group had seen the news report.

Yu was about to say something but he thought better of it.

"You okay?" Yu asked Yosuke.

"I can't believe that she's dead." Yosuke sounded hollow for want of a better word.

"Yeah. It's a bit of a shock for everybody though." Dylan said.

Stephen had more or less kept quiet, as he observed Dylan and Yukiko exchanging glances with each other.

"The principal's got something to say to you so you'd better shut up and show some respect or you're going on my shit list. That goes for you too Blake." Morooka was no doubt looking pointedly in Dylan's direction as he made the threat.

The principal, whatever his name was had made heavy yet purposeful strides towards the front of the room.

"Holy shit, that's Obi-Wan freaking Kenobi! Luke use the force!" Dylan whispered, unfortunately managing to get Morooka's attention.

"Konishi Saki of Class 3-1 has passed away." The principal's voice echoed around the now completely silent room.

"At the moment, the police are investigating her death and they would kindly request your cooperation in assisting with this matter. If you have any information, then please come forward." The principal ended the announcement and walked out.

At that moment, the silence had dissolved into loud speculation over what could have caused Saki's death and what was the connection between her death and Yamano's death.

The rest of the group didn't say anything out of respect for Yosuke as they filed out of the auditorium.

_Hmm. I wonder if Yosuke's really okay, he just seems a lot more quiet than usual. _Yu thought, looking at how downcast Yosuke seemed.

He'd have also had to have been blind not to notice the looks that Dylan and Yukiko were giving each other. Yu also wondered how long they were going to keep this up for.

The chatter that had been carrying on around the room had stopped as the History teacher, Ms Sofue had entered the room wearing an Egyptian headdress. She also managed to redeem the teaching profession after Morooka's increasingly shambolic and utterly pointless lectures.

Lunch had rolled around, and Yukiko stepped outside of the room, waiting for Dylan to follow after her.

"So I wonder what she wants to talk about." Stephen asked, observing Dylan as he got up and walked out.

"Maybe it's got something to do with the Amagi Challenge." Yosuke said, speculating on the nature of Dylan and Yukiko's secret conversation.

"Maybe. Although I'm not so sure that they're going to be having sex in a hallway just yet." Chie joked, causing Yu, Yosuke and Stephen to look at her incredulously.

"So, I'm guessing that you've picked up on the chemistry between them too, right?" Yosuke asked.

"You'd have to be blind not to notice!" Chie said sarcastically. Yu couldn't help but agree with her on that particular point because everybody else but Dylan and Yukiko could see what was going on. You'd have had to have been blind not to.

"So, what do you want to talk to me about?" Dylan asked.

"Well, my father was wondering if you could perhaps help out all day tomorrow and the day after. My mother's suffering from exhaustion so she's going to be taking some time off and I think that we might be a little bit short-staffed." Yukiko explained the situation to Dylan, who nodded.

"Okay. So, I'm assuming that you want me on my best behaviour." Dylan joked, almost ignoring the pointed glare that she was giving him.

"It's not up for discussion. My family have been running this inn since before your father took over your family business under suspicious circumstances. So, you'd better not screw up. Got that?" Yukiko said, her voice turning cold.

"If you insist, milady." Dylan smiled before bowing.

"You're just FULL of surprises aren't you?" Yukiko said before walking away from Dylan.

Dylan's only response was to just throw up his hands in an annoyed fashion before following her back to class.

After classes and everything had ended, Yukiko had to leave again, probably to help out at the inn. She also gave him another look that wasn't lost on anybody else in the group.

"So, you guys aren't fucking? Ladies and gentlemen, Dylan Blake cannot close when he's got a girl wide open!" Stephen shouted, looking in Dylan's direction.

"Oh c'mon." Dylan replied.

"Um guys, I put my hand through a TV the first day I got here." Yu said, trying to rescue the conversation.

"And I fell through a TV twice." Dylan interjected.

"What?" Yosuke and Chie asked.

"Well, it happened. And I'm fairly certain that it'll happen again." Yu replied. Of course, he held back certain information from them because they weren't ready for it.

"Okay. So why don't we just go to Junes so you can prove it." Chie said.

"Oh, we've got some of the latest models in, including one 42" screen. So it's the best way to prove your theory, Yu." Yosuke added sarcastically.

"That's fine by me. Well, I just need to stop by my uncle's house to get something though." Yu responded.

With that agreed, the group went their separate ways and agreed to meet up at Junes later.

_Junes Electronics Department_

Yu had a towel bundled around his katana, which was sheathed, and currently under his arm. Chie and Yosuke didn't believe him, but he knew that they wouldn't believe him if he told them everything else. And even then what could he have done? Make things worse than they were?

"_Yu, if you attempt to confront the culprit or tell your friends the truth before it is time, then all you will succeed in doing is potentially making things worse. What you have to do is not change the past outside of making sure that Blake lives to see the end of the journey. However, some things might change without you making them change." _Yu replayed part of his last conversation with Igor before he had been sent back. He didn't like it, but he knew that there wasn't any other choice.

He looked at Dylan, who seemed subdued in comparison to how he was yesterday. As Yu had known that Blake Consolidated had invested heavily in Junes, he surmised that Dylan felt that Saki's death was somehow his fault.

He stopped as the group had finally approached a 42" TV.

"So, this is going to work right?" Yosuke asked, looking at the screen.

"Yeah well, it would've been a waste of time if it doesn't." Chie replied.

"There's nothing. Well, that was absolute bullshit." Stephen muttered, smacking the screen.

"It worked the last two times, so shut up. Hey, it's not midnight so that could be it." Dylan observed.

Yu put his hand against the TV and he felt something. His hand had gone in but it hadn't seemed to draw him in like it did. Maybe it could sense something about him.

"Wait a minute what the hell?!" Yosuke yelled.

"That's just weird!" Chie exclaimed, looking at the TV with a shocked expression on her face.

"Okay, I'll go in and then Yosuke, Dylan and Stephen will go in. I need you to stand guard and make sure that nobody comes over here. And that if, on the off-chance that we don't come back, then you have to explain what happened. Or you just have to find some other way of explaining it to people. Here goes nothing!" Yu exclaimed, before unwrapping the katana and jumping into the TV. He'd even managed to hand Chie the towel as he jumped.

"Fuck it. I'd better just jump. See you on the other side!" Dylan said before he jumped in.

"So what about you guys?" Chie asked, looking over at Yosuke and Stephen.

"If Yu and Dylan can do it then I can do it. Well, I'll see you when I get back then." Yosuke said, gently squeezing Chie's hand. And then he jumped.

"Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me." Stephen said, throwing his hands up in the air.

"So, are you going to jump or not? Stop being such a chicken!" Chie yelled while stamping her feet at the same time.

"Nobody calls me chicken!" Stephen practically shouted.

He took a few steps back and sprinted forward, finally making the jump into the TV along with Yu, Yosuke and Dylan.

Jumping into the TV was probably the most normal part of the day. Things were about to be getting a lot stranger for them, and that was putting it incredibly mildly.


	7. Chapter 5: First Encounter

**A/N: As someone who can't stand Mary-Sues, or Gary-Stews, Dylan and Stephen aren't perfect and have their own set of flaws including Dylan's sheer unwillingness to grow up and Stephen's enabling of Dylan's behaviour because he thinks that's what friends just do. **

**And while neither of them will be sparkling (Dylan: What? Me, sparkle? He's an English Major, he wouldn't do that!), both of them are, along with the Investigation Team, going to be on more-or-less the same level of badass as the Avengers. So, no weird sparkling vampire-like bullshit here.**

**Chapter 5: First Encounter**

**April 14, 2011**

_Entrance, Mayonaka_

Yu, Yosuke, Dylan and Stephen were falling through a tunnel with a repeating black and white swirling pattern that resembled a zebra being shoved into a washing machine. It sort of resembled falling down a rabbit hole into an unknown world or falling through a wardrobe into a world populated with talking animals and a witch that had managed to turn it into a Popsicle. But there wasn't really any way to describe what the experience was like.

And that was before they landed in a place that bore a very strong resemblance to a TV studio set except that it was coloured a very bright shade of orange. Also, the floor had a weird black and yellow swirl pattern that was incredibly disorienting. Not to mention the concentric circles that you'd normally expect to find at a crime scene.

Yu and Dylan had managed to land on their feet, Yosuke had fallen in a dignified manner but had stood back up fairly quickly, and Stephen, however had managed to end up in an undignified heap.

"OW! What the hell? Where are we?!" Stephen asked. He slowly stood back up and looked around him.

"Yeah, what's going on?" Yosuke added.

"I've got no idea." Dylan lied.

"Well, this place is called Mayonaka, and I'm assuming that this is the entrance. Which means that there is a way to progress through and get to somewhere else." Yu concluded.

"So, what are we waiting for then? Some kind of sign?" Dylan asked, his question accompanied by him raising his hands up to the sky.

"We could do that. But I think that finding a way through here would be the preferred option." Yu said.

Yosuke, Dylan and Stephen had no choice but to agree with that. It wasn't as if this place was all that safe.

_Twisted Shopping District, Mayonaka_

After having wandered through there for what seemed like an age through almost impenetrable banks of fog, the fog had begun to clear to show a row of identical houses on an immaculate street that connected out onto other streets.

They decided to enter one of the identical houses and what they saw would shock them to the very core.

For one thing, there was blood dripping down to the floor from the walls like something out of a horror movie. There were also pictures of a woman with her face either cut off, burnt off, scratched off, painted over, crossed off, crumpled up or just ripped up into increasingly miniscule pieces.

And that was before they saw a chair in the middle of the room with a red scarf hanging down from the ceiling like a noose. Yu almost immediately recognised what it was but he decided against telling the rest of the group that.

"What the fuck?" Stephen looked up.

"Maybe someone killed himself in here. Yeah, something doesn't feel right about this at all." Yosuke said, echoing the unvoiced sentiments of everyone in the group except Yu.

"We'd better get out of here before whoever was here before us comes back." Dylan interjected.

Yu watched as Yosuke, Dylan and Stephen hurried out of the building and followed after them in a leisurely manner.

Stephen looked in fear as something that looked like a stuffed bear with blue fur wearing a red and white jumpsuit which looked sort of like a clown outfit made its way towards the group. Yu and Dylan almost immediately recognized the bear, but Yosuke and Stephen had no idea who or what it was supposed to be.

"Hey Teddie." Dylan said.

"Oh, there you are Teddie. It's great to see you." Yu added, not wanting to give too much away at that moment.

"So why are you guys here?" Teddie asked.

"Well we just fell in and we decided to have a little look around." Dylan replied.

"You have to be bear-y, bear-y careful because the grizzlies are around and they're bear-y hungry! And angry too!" Teddie explained.

"Wait, you mean Shadows? As in beings that feed off of peoples' emotions right?" Yu asked.

"Well, whatever you want to call them, you have to be bear-y careful when they appear because you're going to be bear-y big trouble!" Teddie exclaimed.

"Back up for a minute here. Did you really just say Shadows?" Stephen asked.

"Wait, there were previous incidents involving Shadows if I remember correctly. So I'm guessing that there's got to be a reason why there's Shadows here." Yu surmised calmly.

"Yes, but there's something that usually guides them." Teddie said.

"My brother was one of the people who helped stop the last one. But I don't think that what's going on here is in any way, shape or form connected to what happened on Port Island. At least I don't think so." Dylan said.

"Whatever it is, you've made them bear-y upset with you. Well, more upset than they were before you got here." Teddie sounded remarkably upbeat when he mentioned this.

They could hear a noise in the distance that grew simultaneously closer and louder. It sort of sounded like a series of wet-sounding thuds. These thuds were accompanied by the same thick, rolling banks of fog that they had seen earlier only there was a lot more fog this time.

Not only that but a black, tar-like ooze had appeared on the walls of the buildings and on the ground and was moving like a tidal wave towards the group. The ooze began to form into weird three dimensional oval things that were pink with black stripes. Said shapes had no eyes and a large, gaping mouth with large teeth and a long tongue. In addition, there were actors' masks on their backs that were secured there by something.

"They're called Slipping Hableries." Yu said, as if they were the most common sight in the world.

"I think you'd better wear these! Look, we've got to get out of here!" Teddie said, handing Yu a pair of glasses.

They had no other option but to start running as fast as they could. Yu knew that despite the fact that he had his katana with him, it wasn't going to do much against the Shadows by itself.

Eventually, the Shadows had managed to have them surrounded with nowhere else to possibly run to.

"Okay, we tried running, what the hell do we do now?" Stephen asked, looking at the Shadows that had surrounded them.

"I don't know." Yosuke replied. Nobody wanted to think about how close they were to impending death.

Yu had taken his katana out of its sheathe and stood before the Shadows. _I am thou, thou art I. The time has come. Open thine eyes and call forth what's within. _

Yu already knew what was going to happen next. He looked up as he was surrounded by blue flames that coalesced into a bright blue card that floated down into the hand that he had kept empty. He already knew what must be done.

"PER-SO-NA! I-ZA-NA-GI!" Yu yelled, calling forth Izanagi as he was surrounded by bright blue light that caused the Shadows to recoil away from them.

The being, or Izanagi as it was called, had golden eyes and was wearing a metal mask on its face. Izanagi was wearing black trousers and a black long coat that was fully zipped up and was carrying a sword that looked more like a spear with a large, serrated knife-blade replacing the point. It also had pointed feet, no doubt because it was wearing boots with blades on them.

"**It's good to see you old friend. I can only assume that the plan has worked and that we're back to where we're supposed to be."** Izanagi said, sounding clear despite the mask it was wearing.

"It has. The only problem is that we're going to die if you don't help us. Yu said.

"**Of course." **Izanagi sounded remarkably good-natured, almost as if it had been waiting to be called forth again.

One of the Shadows began to make its move and was going to attempt to attack Yosuke before Yu or Izanagi could notice it in time.

"Izanagi! Zio!" Yu commanded.

Izanagi lifted a hand and a bolt of lightning struck the Shadow, bringing it down to the ground. Yu looked as Izanagi darted over to finish that particular Shadow off. But there were still more to deal with.

One of the Shadows managed to attack Izanagi before the being could react, hurting Izanagi and affecting Yu as well.

Izanagi looked at the Shadow with an expression of pity mixed with contempt as it skewered the Shadow. This display of force was enough to destroy it, leaving five more Shadows left for Izanagi to destroy. But it wasn't like the numerical advantage that the Shadows had would matter all that much.

Yu unzipped his jacket and smiled. _Some things never change. _

The first of the remaining Shadows attempted to attack Izanagi but Izanagi impaled it and sent it flying against a wall where it disappeared.

Another Shadow rushed towards the group and had bit into Izanagi's arm. Izanagi made a violent twisting motion in order to free itself from The Shadow before attacking it.

"**I am Izanagi. I know no fear. I was one of the first, and you Shadows are nothing more than twisted abominations. You cannot hope to match me in combat." **Izanagi said, provoking the Shadows while succeeding in drawing the attention of the remaining three Shadows away from the group.

The first of the remaining Shadows charged at Izanagi, and had managed to almost sneak past Izanagi, only to be met with the being's weapon and sliced in half.

The two remaining Shadows attempted to attack Yosuke, Dylan and Stephen which was something that Yu wasn't going to allow to happen on his watch.

"Izanagi! Zio!" Yu commanded, causing Izanagi to cast Zio on one of the remaining Shadows. There was also a pause before Izanagi used the same ability again, destroying both Shadows.

"**Farewell my friend, until we meet again." **Izangi bowed its head before vanishing away.

"Would you mind explaining what the hell that was?" Yosuke asked.

"It's called Persona." Yu replied.

"Whatever it's called, that was off the fucking chain!" Stephen exclaimed loudly.

"That was possibly the coolest thing we've seen since we got here." Dylan enthused.

"That was amazing Sensei!" Teddie gushed.

"Well we have to see what else there is here." Yu said.

Yu, Yosuke, Dylan and Stephen along with Teddie went further into the Twisted Shopping District when they saw a building that Yosuke recognised.

"This-this-looks exactly like the liquor store that Saki-Senpai's parents run." Yosuke said.

"**I wish Junes would go under! It's all because of that store!"** They heard a distinctly feminine voice echoing from inside the building.

"**I heard that Konishi-san's daughter is working there you know. And their business is really suffering too. That poor man, to have his own daughter betray him by working for the enemy." **There were other voices too, but they all seemed to blend together.

Yosuke ran inside, closely followed by Yu, Dylan and Stephen.

"**You do know what the neighbours have been saying about you right?!" **A male voice could be heard now, and it didn't sound happy.

"Is that Saki-Senpai's dad?" Yosuke asked.

"**Why did you have to work there of all places?! Our family has owned this store for generations and you work for the people who are trying to put us out of business! I don't believe it! Especially after that big-shot American businessman started poking his nose in where it didn't belong!" **The voice continued.

Yosuke moved towards a desk and picked up a photograph or rather the cut-up pieces of said photograph.

"**I always wanted to tell Hana-Chan that he's a pain in the ass. The only reason I was nice to him was because I could've gotten fired but he just takes everything the wrong way. Ugh, what a dip! Because of Junes, my family are almost bankrupt and our neighbours talk behind my back! I'm sick of Junes and I wish everything would disappear!" **Saki, although dead, was making her presence felt.

"NO! She's not like that!" Yosuke shouted.

"**OH, she's not like that! Quit deluding yourself pal!"** There was another voice, and another Yosuke had appeared in front of them.

"What?" Yosuke asked.

"**You're sick of living in Inaba right? You're just stuck in the sticks and this has been the most interesting thing that's happened to you! Along with the silverette and Dumb & Dumber!"** Shadow Yosuke laughed.

"NO! That's not true!" Yosuke yelled, while also stamped his foot.

"**Oh, c'mon! Stop acting like such a big shot pal! You can't pull it off! Not like me anyway!" **Shadow Yosuke was laughing at the idea.

"You're lying!" Yosuke shouted.

"**You know I'm right! Hell, look at BLONDIE! He's managed to get more pussy than you and do you know why that is? He doesn't give a SHIT about anyone else but himself! Just like his old man!"** Shadow Yosuke continued.

"That's enough." Yosuke said quietly.

"**Oh, that's enough! What? You were just going to fall in here and be the hero right?" **Shadow Yosuke mocked.

"No, that's not true!" Yosuke almost screamed at his Shadow.

"**Well it is, and I'm here so it must be true!" **Shadow Yosuke said triumphantly.

"NO! You're not me! You can't be! I refuse to believe it! There's no way!" Yosuke was almost hysterical.

"**Oh, you're not me! Tell it to somebody who gives a shit!"** Shadow Yosuke growled.

"YOU'RE NOT ME!" Yosuke shouted again, but he was much louder this time.

"**That's right! SAY IT AGAIN! I DARE YOU!" **Shadow Yosuke roared back.

"YOU CAN'T BE ME YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Yosuke yelled again, causing his Shadow to begin laughing uncontrollably.

"**You're right about that. I was wondering WHEN you'd be right about something. Honestly." **Shadow Yosuke replied.

Shadow Yosuke was almost instantaneously replaced with an animated frog with an almost cartoonish looking body on top.

"**I'm going to make everything disappear!" **Shadow Yosuke roared before swinging wildly at Yosuke, who was just about pulled out of the way by Dylan and Stephen.

"HEY! Leave them alone! Alright, if that's how you want to do this, IZANAGI!" Yu yelled, summoning Izanagi again.

"**You think that scares me? Pain in the ass!" **Shadow Yosuke about to attack his other self along with Dylan and Stephen but Izanagi leapt in the way, shielding them from any harm. Even if it was going to suffer in the process.

Unfortunately the resulting impact brought Yu to his knees. Seeing this, Izanagi rushed over to Yu to help him stand back up, taking special care to evade some of Shadow Yosuke's attacks before doing so.

"Izanagi, ZIO!" Yu ordered Izanagi to call forth another bolt of lightning. This resulted in Shadow Yosuke crumpling into a forlorn heap on the floor.

"C'mon Sensei! You can do it!" Teddie was busying himself giving Yu words of encouragement.

Izanagi attacked Shadow Yosuke, who promptly stood back up, but fell into a defensive position as if preparing a powerful attack of its own.

"Sensei! Be careful!" Teddie shouted.

Yu almost immediately dropped into a defensive stance as he knew what was going to be coming next. Sure enough, Shadow Yosuke sent a blast of wind at him that only damaged him a little bit.

"**I've had enough of you!"** Shadow Yosuke exclaimed, bringing its hand down on Yu who just about managed to dodge it before counterattacking himself by getting Izanagi to stab the hand. Which would cause the Shadow to fall back and attempt something else.

Izanagi cast Zio again, which resulted in Shadow Yosuke falling down for a second time. Seeing an opening, Yu and Izanagi attacked Shadow Yosuke at the same time.

Shadow Yosuke stood back up, and summoned a red burst of energy which made it stronger. Yu quickly dropped into a guarding stance so as to minimise any damage that he'd get from the Shadow's next attack. It seemed that Shadow Yosuke was able to counterattack anything that Yu and Izanagi could do to try and take it down, which was gradually becoming an unpleasant possibility for them.

"**Well, this has become a very interesting battle." **Izanagi mused.

"Then I guess we have to be careful." Yu replied.

They both waited in anticipation of Shadow Yosuke's next move. When said next move wasn't forthcoming, Yu ordered Izanagi to cast Zio on Shadow Yosuke again, bringing the Shadow down to the ground temporarily.

After Yu and Izanagi attacked the Shadow again, Shadow Yosuke stood back up and pounded the ground in frustration.

"**PAIN IN THE ASS! I WANT YOU DISAPPEAR!"** Shadow Yosuke charged at Izanagi, who dodged it and skewered it, tossing Shadow Yosuke across the room like a child's toy.

It took a few seconds for Shadow Yosuke to get back up and over to where it had been since the start of the battle.

Yu dropped back into another defensive stance as Shadow Yosuke swung at him for another attempt at damaging him.

Izanagi cast Zio again, but this time cast it when Shadow Yosuke was down on the ground, causing the Shadow some more pain.

They dropped back, waiting for another blast of wind to hit them, which it did and almost sent them flying despite their guarding against it.

"**WHY WON'T YOU JUST DISAPPEAR ALREADY?!" **Shadow Yosuke screamed, unable to comprehend that Yu wasn't going to just give up.

"No." Yu didn't really need to say anything to add to that.

Izanagi nodded, and readied itself for Shadow Yosuke's next onslaught. The Shadow lunged at Izanagi again, grabbing the being and throwing it against a wall. Izanagi had managed to stand back up much to Shadow Yosuke's intense frustration and casted Zio on it or him. Or whatever you wanted to call it.

As soon as Shadow Yosuke returned to its feet, Yu dropped down as the Shadow was guarding its weak point before unleashing a counterattack.

After two more blasts of Zio, Shadow Yosuke returned to its normal form but had fallen silent, unable to say anything after Yu had battled it with everything that he had.

Yu dismissed Izanagi who disappeared with a mere nod of his head.

"I guess that I have to accept you right?" Yosuke asked. His Shadow just looked at him with a blank expression on its face.

"YES! Otherwise your Shadow will start attacking you again!" Teddie exclaimed.

"Well, I don't know." Yosuke said.

"Just do it!" Dylan replied.

"Yeah." Stephen added.

"I accept that I haven't really been all that enthused about living in Inaba. And I was hoping to be the hero when we fell in here but that didn't work out the way I planned. It'd just be easier if I accepted everything. Besides, I've got you guys, well, and Chie." Yosuke said.

The group looked on as Shadow Yosuke disappeared, and was replaced with a being by the name of Jiraiya. Jiraiya was a ninja frog wearing a white jumpsuit with white shoes, a gold V on its chest, a red-orange scarf and gold ninja stars. Jiraiya looked at Yosuke and gave Yosuke the Persona equivalent of a smile before it disappeared.

"That was my Persona. Wow. Now I have the strength to move forward." Yosuke said, sounding happier than he did when confronted with his Shadow self.

Yu, Yosuke, Teddie, Dylan and Stephen exited the liquor store, or more specifically, the Mayonaka version of it.

"Teddie, would you mind summoning a portal back to our world?" Yu asked politely.

Teddie stamped his left foot and summoned a 1950s style TV out from the ground and Yosuke and Stephen jumped through it followed by Yu and Dylan. Somehow, Teddie knew that he was going to see them again.

He briefly thought about the difference between Yu and Dylan. Yu was already incredibly certain in his designation as the Wild Card while Dylan, although uncertain, was moving in the right direction.

"I bear-y much hope you're right." Teddie said, wondering if Future Dylan heard him. Maybe he did.

_Vincent (Goddamn) Summers's Apartment, London England_

A muscular, good looking, 5'11" blonde with almost waist-length hair and blue eyes wearing Union-Jack coloured jeans and a white t-shirt fumbled for the key to his apartment. His name was Vincent Summers and he was the cousin of Dylan and Chase Blake as his mother, Allison, was Gregory Blake's sister. His father, Malcolm Summers, was an incredibly wealthy man and a lord even if Vincent didn't care to mention it.

He got into his apartment at almost the exact same minute that his phone was ringing.

**Song: Tha Trademarc – Gold Medal **

"Jodie? What the bloody hell? I only just got in babe! You got to yours alright?" Vincent asked, sounding worried.

"I did! You have to turn on your TV and watch the news! I think your cousin Dylan might be in trouble!" Jodie sounded panicked.

"Wait what? Is that because of the sodding murders? Oh for fuck sake!" Vincent trailed off into another string of curses about his uncle.

"Don't you think it's suspicious that he sent Dylan to Inaba?" Jodie asked.

"I thought it was because he didn't want Dylan to get in trouble. I can't fucking believe this. That's our summer holiday out the window now if I can't reschedule it. And I've got to have lunch with Alex tomorrow, can't miss it either. Bollocks." Vincent said. He might have been drunk before, but he'd sobered up.

"Well, maybe we can have some fun after that then? And see if I can get my stuff in your place next week like we said before. I'll see you tomorrow!" Jodie hung up.

Vincent went to the fridge and grabbed himself a can of beer and cracked it open before he reached for the remote. He switched over to one of the news channels just to make sure that he wasn't imagining things. Or Jodie wasn't worrying too much over what could be just an extremely weird coincidence.

He turned on the news and spat out his beer in shock.

"Fucking hell." Those were the only words he could say before he started swearing at the TV as loudly as he could.

After calming down, he turned the TV and decided that he was going to have to sleep on it and come to a course of action on the matter tomorrow. But he knew that Alex wouldn't believe him no matter what he said. Which only really left his dad as his dad or Lord Malcolm seemed to know what was going on with that side of the family more often than not.


	8. Chapter 6: All I Want

**Chapter 6: All I Want**

**April 14, 2011**

_Junes Electronics Department _

Dylan opened his eyes and looked up, relieved that he could hear the Junes music playing in the background. Yu had already gotten to his feet while Yosuke had helped Stephen get up while Dylan stood up by himself.

"What the hell happened to you guys?" Chie asked, looking anxiously at them as they'd all managed to stand up by now.

"It's a long story. But, we're back! Hooray!" Yosuke replied.

Yu looked on in amusement as Chie and Yosuke hugged each other before Chie gently shoved him away.

"Where we really gone for that long?" Yosuke asked, hearing an announcement play out on the PA system.

Yu took a long look at an advertisement with a very familiar looking woman on it with a worried expression on his face.

"Hey, that's the woman from that weird room!" Stephen exclaimed, pointing at the advertisement in fear.

"That's the famous ballad singer Hiiragi Misuzu, you know, the one who's married to that councilman. Or at least I think that she still is." Chie explained.

"This is just weird." Yosuke sounded incredibly worried at this new development, as he was wincing slightly.

"Yeah. Hey, I'd just like to say that I'm nothing like my dad. The fact that I've apologised for everything has made that fact perfectly clear." Dylan said.

"Thanks for the apology. I'd better get going. See you guys tomorrow. And Dylan, good luck with Yukiko." Yosuke said before walking away.

"I'll see you around. I'm really glad that you guys are still alive." Chie waved before leaving as well. She'd also handed Yu back the towel that he used to keep his katana hidden.

After Yosuke and Chie had left, Yu had gone as well, leaving Dylan and Stephen by themselves.

"Was Yosuke's Shadow right about me? Am I really so much like my dad?" Dylan asked.

"Sometimes you are. Plus, Roz died because you couldn't take the pressure anymore." Stephen didn't really know what else to tell Dylan then the really obvious.

"Will you shut about that? I know that I've made some mistakes but doing ANYTHING to make more money? Including trying to deprive people of their livelihoods? It's indefensible." Dylan said, sounding genuinely upset.

"I know. Look, it's a fresh start, and we've got to make the best of it. Doesn't matter what things are like here." Stephen replied matter-of-factly.

"Easy for you to say. You're not the one whose one mistake away from being utterly destitute. You're not the one who agreed to get sent to a place where people were getting murdered because you're perceived as being a disgrace to your family. I've got no idea if I get another chance to start again if I blow this one. I'm sorry. It's just been a long few days." Dylan sighed.

That was putting it mildly because they could've died in a ridiculously horrifying fashion, plus Dylan still felt guilt about Saki's death despite not being the cause of it. _What if agreeing to come here was another mistake?_

"C'mon, let's go." Stephen said, cutting through Dylan's thoughts.

As Dylan followed Stephen through Junes, he wondered if his family name was a curse that he couldn't escape from. Maybe the members of the group who'd lived in Inaba knew how much of a negative impact that his family's business interests had on Inaba.

"So, what do you think about Yukiko?" Stephen asked.

"Well, she's nice when she wants to be." Dylan replied.

"I can imagine." Stephen said while whistling loudly. Of course, he knew that Dylan had more of a shot with her so he wasn't going to try.

"HEY! I'm not an animal, you know. Well, maybe I am a little bit." Dylan chuckled.

"Yeah. Those two weeks in Vermont pretty much proved that. Some crazy shit went down then that's for sure." Stephen said, even pausing to high-five Dylan who didn't seem particularly interested in returning the gesture.

"Well, I don't think that anything like that's going to be going on this time around. I wonder what Yukiko's ex did to make her the way she is. Other than sleep with her and brag about I mean." Dylan responded. He didn't quite know what it was about Yukiko, but he couldn't stop thinking about her. It was weird to say the very least.

_I wonder if it's got something to do with my other self. _Dylan thought.

Not only that but Yu had something called a Persona and neither of them did. Yet.

Dylan wondered if he could figuratively mend the perception that people would have had of his family and if that perception would have reflected on him. And what about Yukiko? He wondered if she'd be a different person if her ex hadn't been a complete asshole to her. More specifically, he reflected on his future self's regret that he didn't get to say what it was he was feeling when he had the chance to.

**Let's leave no words unspoken**

**And save regrets for the broken**

**Will you even look back when you think of me?**

**All I want is a place to call my own**

**To mend the hearts of everyone who feels alone**

**Whoa-oh you know to keep your hopes up high**

**And your head down low**

They didn't know what was up ahead for them, and if they did, then they certainly weren't going to be progressing on the journey along with Yu and the others. Well, when it absolutely came down to it. Which wouldn't be for a while, or so they hoped.

_If Stephen and I were supposed to be here, then what are we supposed to do? What am I supposed to do because Igor says I'm one of the Wild Cards? Does that mean I'm going to be a hero? _

Dylan eventually decided that it wasn't worth his time worrying about things that might happen and instead worry about what is happening now.

_Samegawa Flood Plain_

Yu had managed to walk across much of the flood plain before it had begun to rain. The clouds were dark and ominous which could mean that they were portents of things to come. Or maybe the clouds reflected the climate of fear surrounding Inaba after the two murders?

_I wonder what might change now that I've been sent back. Just because things haven't changed so far doesn't mean that they won't change in the future. And Dylan's completely different in comparison to what he was. Or what he's going to be. I really have no idea which one is supposed to be right._

Yu began to slowly quicken his pace, watching as the clouds begun to darken further and it became clear that it was going to rain. There'd been two murders so far, and he was sure that the number was set to rise over the coming months.

He remembered Igor telling him that sending people back into the past via the Velvet Room was something that had never happened before in the Velvet Room's existence. It was unprecedented, but Igor had known the risks more than he necessarily did. If he failed, then he was certain that the toucan-nosed man's prediction of impending doom would no doubt come true and trigger the impending apocalypse. _No pressure then? _Yu thought to himself.

Yu couldn't help but feel concerned about Dylan and his apparent inability to mature in relation to the new circumstances that they had been faced with recently. He wasn't an expert in diagnosing peoples' issues, but he could surmise that the blonde had harboured a lot of guilt over what his family had done to Inaba and places like it. It also seemed that Dylan was acting the way he is because his father must have placed an ungodly amount of pressure on him to be a certain way and it backfired.

"_I think it might be best if you forgot what you knew about the rest of the team, especially Dylan. When you encounter him as he was, you would find that he is quite different to what he was when you knew him."_ Yu remembered Igor say. It was part of the last conversation that he had with the proprietor of the Velvet Room before the mission began.

Yu looked up to the sky as rain began to fall at an alarming rate and had no choice but to run as fast as he could to try and avoid it. After running for a few minutes and failing to avoid the rain, he stopped in front of a familiar face who was standing with an umbrella and looked at him with an expression of mild curiosity.

"Hey Yu!" Marie chirped.

"Hey. Um, I've had to run through the rain, so would you mind holding that umbrella for me?" Yu asked.

"No problem. So, how did your little excursion go?" Marie was currently looking at Yu with an expression of worry as if to indicate that she knew about his risking life and limb to prevent his friends from being harmed by the Shadows that lurked in Mayonaka.

"Yosuke accepted his Shadow and awakened his Persona Jiraiya like he did before." Yu said, his expression becoming slightly clouded. _I KNOW that there was no way I could have gotten to Saki in time but then again she would've been too far gone if I did. Dylan told me once that I might have had a hero complex that contributed to my desire to help people here. I think he may have been right about that._ Yu had slipped into a more-or-less thoughtful silence and the only sounds that could be heard other than the falling rain were his and Marie's footsteps as they walked along.

"Are you okay? You seem a bit off for some reason." Marie worried, sounding as if she knew more than what Yu might have been willing to say.

"I know that I wasn't going to rescue Saki, but I still wanted to try and see if I could." Yu sighed. He looked over and Marie had tenderly placed a hand upon his shoulders and attempted to reassure him that he was doing the right thing agreeing to go back to the past.

They really didn't want their walk together to end, but they were walking across the flood plain at a fairly brisk pace, and Marie would be returning to the Velvet Room. But, that wasn't really a fact worth dwelling on because they really enjoyed each other's company and wanted to spend more and more time together. Despite everything that was going on around them.

_Amagi Inn_

It was raining when Stephen and Dylan finally managed to get to the inn. Stephen had decided to run in so as to avoid the rain, but Dylan had noticed Yukiko sitting on the steps leading into the inn. She was dressed in a pink kimono with a white floral pattern that really flattered her figure and his eyes were drawn to her despite himself.

"So, do you want to sit down or will you just keep ogling me?" Yukiko asked.

"I'll sit down!" Dylan replied, not wanting to unduly upset Yukiko. Upon closer inspection, it seemed that her eyes were red, most likely from crying but he didn't want to say anything about that yet.

"So, how are you finding Inaba? It's different from New York right?" Yukiko asked again, looking at Dylan and smiling.

"Well yeah. I don't really mind though because I've actually travelled beyond the city and I've gone out-of-state before so it's not as if I've been cooped up in the same place. I wouldn't say that you've had the same experience though." Dylan surmised, sounding pretty understanding about it.

"I've still got plenty of time. But travelling to different places is pretty nice. I can imagine." She smiled, moving closer towards Dylan so as to minimize the distance between them.

"It is. I'd just want to reiterate my apology about how I've been hitting on you and everything. I usually just say stuff like that whenever Steve's around because I've never really listened to people who've told me to act in a different way. I can learn given the right incentive." Dylan said, grinning as Yukiko blushed when she realised what he was implying. He hadn't seen this side of her much and he liked it.

"You know, I wasn't always this responsible. I used to cut classes with Chie last year, and my ex kind of talked me into doing some stuff that I wasn't exactly ready for." Yukiko sounded slightly bitter when she mentioned her ex and didn't want to elaborate on what exactly he got her to do for him.

"Ah. Of course you're not going to tell me just what he made you do so I'd probably be better off asking you something else. Like why your eyes are red." Dylan wondered openly, noticing how red Yukiko's eyes were again and wondering if she'd been crying. _Does that mean that she can feel vulnerable like a normal person? _Dylan thought, not wanting to say anything about it to her in case he'd end up offending her.

"My mother fainted, and she's been told to take more of a rest and to temporarily step aside as manager which means that I'll be taking over for her." Yukiko said matter-of-factly, trying not to show how much that was affecting her.

"Ah. So, basically, you're going to be my boss. And I assume that I'll most likely be doing your job." Dylan joked.

"I don't think that would be particularly likely. Anyway, the family has been linked with one of the murders and there's speculation that we might have been responsible for it. Of course, this means that there'll be undue media attention focused upon the inn. Not to mention that Golden Week is in three weeks and the inn is going to be incredibly busy. Just because my mother slapped that Yamano woman." Yukiko explained, beginning to sound angry at the unfairness of the situation that her family had found themselves in.

"I really don't think that your family is responsible for the deaths of any of the victims. It just sounds like really lazy reporting. I've only really known you and your family for three days or so and you're not murderers. And even if you were…" Dylan looked surprised as Yukiko had grabbed him and enfolded him in her arms in a tender embrace. He was even more surprised when she kissed him tenderly on the lips and he returned the kiss, accompanying it with a gentle return of her soft embrace.

After losing themselves in the moment for a few minutes, the falling of the rain brought them back to reality and they slowly begun to break the kiss and end their embrace. Dylan looked at Yukiko and she was blushing profusely as neither of them could quite believe what had just happened.

"Ahem! I really don't know what came over me because I don't normally let myself become so vulnerable. Especially when there's an irresponsible jackass like you involved." She smoothed her hair and stood up, causing Dylan to stand up at the same time.

"Hey! I'm just going to go back to my room and get changed, so just let me know if you need to talk alright." Dylan asked, wanting to hug Yukiko but thinking better of it for the time being.

"You can stop by my room later if you want to talk or something. Just don't tell Steve. Got it?!" Yukiko said, her voice becoming surprisingly flinty.

She turned and walked away, leaving a bewildered Dylan staring at her while trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. Was he falling for Yukiko of all people? Was the Ice Princess as he sort of started calling her beginning to melt?

"Oh c'mon, I thought going somewhere new would be an escape from all this stuff." Dylan said to nobody in particular. He turned around and went back into the inn, wanting to gather his thoughts before meeting up with Yukiko later.

They both had their own sets of issues to worry about so Dylan didn't think that they'd rush into anything just yet. But he was about to be proven wrong.

_What if she's just a mistake? What if I'm projecting my feelings for Roz onto her? Is she really the person I've been looking for? And, to paraphrase Lionel Richie, is it me she's looking for?_

Dylan really couldn't find an answer to that question so he left it to one side for the moment.

_Dojima Residence_

Yu had managed to get home without getting rained on thanks to Marie, who promptly left for the Velvet Room after seeing him back to the house. Luckily, Dojima was out at the moment which left him time to put his katana back upstairs in his room where nobody but him could find it.

It might have been adrenaline from travelling to Mayonaka for the first time since being sent back, but he was only starting to feel the effects of his efforts to rescue the rest of the group and help Yosuke discover his true self. Yu knew that it wasn't going to be plain-sailing and that he'd have to get used to the place all over again. He contemplated telling Nanako and his uncle everything but had decided against it as they would be asking further questions and he didn't necessarily have the time to answer them or make his answers seem convincing.

He could hear the soft patter of Nanako's footsteps downstairs, and guessed that she had managed to bring the laundry in before the rain became any worse. Dojima, of course, was investigating the murders and trying to follow up on a variety of leads that could either solve the case or lead him to look at other leads.

"_You didn't think this would be easy right?" _Yu heard Dylan's voice, or rather the Dylan that he'd known originally in his head.

_I didn't. Of course, if the other you was surer of his status as the Wild Card then maybe he could, I don't know, help. _Yu silenced the voice and stared up at the ceiling of his room as if he was looking for some form of inspiration regarding the situation that he'd found himself in.

Speaking of Dylan, Yu noticed that his interactions with Yukiko in particular were different to what they were, almost as if they were actively trying to drop each other hints about their true feelings. Unfortunately, Dylan had decided to hit on her every chance he got and she'd pretend not to enjoy the attention. _Will you two just make up your minds? _Yu sighed loudly before standing back up and walking out of his room and making his way downstairs.

"Dad's going to be home soon." Nanako said, just noticing Yu's presence.

"Of course." Yu replied. He wasn't really sure what else he could say to his cousin. Then again, he didn't need to worry as Dojima had managed to get home and was shaking the rain off of his coat and umbrella.

"I'd assumed that you were going to be stay here, which I don't think you did seeing as you probably went out after you went home first." Dojima said. Yu wondered just how perceptive his uncle was. Or maybe he was just a good detective.

"How did you know?" Yu asked.

"Call it an uncle's intuition. Look, I appreciate your interest in my work, but it's very dangerous at the moment and I don't want you to get hurt. Besides, your parents would never forgive me if something were to happen to you." Dojima wasn't kidding. He'd promised Yu's parents that he'd look after Yu and that included preventing him from being murdered.

"I know, they said as much to me." Yu mumbled as he lowered his head and looked at Dojima apologetically.

"Then you understand my concern." Dojima smiled slightly, relieved that his nephew understood why he was so worried.

"Of course. Maybe the culprit might be closer than you think." Yu said,

"Maybe. But, perhaps this is a conversation that we could have some other time." Dojima concluded. It had been a long day and he was no closer to solving the case than he was the day before.

In a way, Yu understood Dojima's wanting to hold off on that particular conversation. Perhaps it was really too soon for there to be any headway in regards to unmasking the culprit, especially if Yu knew who it was before Dojima would necessarily know.

_Amagi Inn_

Dylan had walked back into the inn and proceeded to shake his head in order to get out some of the rain because it wasn't like he was just going to dry his hair using his leather jacket. He wondered exactly what it was he felt about Yukiko, yes there was a definite physical attraction but he couldn't help but wonder if there was more to it than that. Or maybe he was just imagining everything because the kiss must have scrambled his mind a little.

He walked to his room, not bothering to knock on the door to Stephen's room because he wasn't sure if he could talk to Stephen about the situation. Especially as Yukiko had forbid it.

Dylan just didn't know what to think about the kiss and what led up to it. Did it happen because Yukiko just wanted to shut him up or because, just maybe, she felt about him in the same way that he felt about her? But that couldn't be right?

For one thing, Yukiko was the responsible heiress to a family-run inn in a small town in Japan and Dylan was the irresponsible youngest son of a multi-billionaire who was viewed as either one of the geniuses in the business world at best or an amoral, manipulative, narcissistic sociopath at worst. So it would be a weird match on that level. Not to mention the videos on You Tube of him getting arrested, and he even managed to head-butt a cop in one of them.

After getting to his room, Dylan took off his uniform and took a shower, letting the hot water cascade over him as he stood deep in thought. He'd wondered if Yukiko was like Roz, or like Crystal and what he'd do in either situation. Or maybe she was different to them both?

After having washed his hair and attempted to get his third foray into Mayonaka out of his system, he stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. Upon exiting the bathroom, he reached for a pair of boxer shorts and ripped jeans and put them on before putting on a Black Sabbath t-shirt.

Dylan spent about fifteen to twenty minutes drying his hair and was wondered why Yukiko would want to talk to him where other people wouldn't intrude on the conversation. Maybe it was something important? He wondered why things were getting more complicated, especially after his kiss with Yukiko and her reaction to it.

He put on his socks and shoes, tying his shoes before exiting the room and brining his key with him to Yukiko's room which he knew was on, presumably, a different floor to his room.

After finally finding her room, Dylan knocked on the door and waited for Yukiko to open it for him.

"Hey." Yukiko said, almost feigning surprise at his presence. She was wearing black sweatpants and a red t-shirt and Dylan thought that she was the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen.

"Hey yourself." Dylan said, smiling wryly as he walked in behind her, closing the door slowly behind him as he did so. He wasn't so sure if she could notice his blush, but he didn't think that it mattered.

Yukiko sat down on the bed and motioned for Dylan to do the same.

"Look, I just want things between us to be professional when we're working together. And that means not giving into our baser instincts or anything like that." Yukiko laughed slightly at the thought even if she was strongly considering it.

"I understand." Dylan did his best not to sound in any way disappointed at the suggestion.

"Good. But that doesn't prevent us from having fun today, you know." Yukiko smiled at Dylan.

"Really? Thought you weren't ready? Oh, you're trying to get back at your ex and this is some revenge deal for whatever he did to you. Which is fine by the way" Dylan said, grinning wolfishly at her.

"Why don't you find out?" Yukiko asked before she leaned over and let the blonde sweep her into his arms before kissing her on the lips.

Dylan had wrapped his arms around Yukiko's body and drew her closer to him as they kissed. After releasing his grip on her, he allowed his hands to gently caress her but he didn't want to get too lost in the moment.

Neither did Yukiko as she gently broke the kiss, her face a bright red as if she wasn't expecting it.

"I think we both got caught up in the moment a little bit, but it feels right for some reason." Dylan observed.

"True. But then again, it's something that you're used to." Yukiko purred.

"Yeah. Look, are you sure you want to do this?" Dylan asked gently, not wanting to pressure her into doing anything that she was going to regret.

"I guess so." Yukiko replied.

There was a very brief pause before Dylan took off his t-shirt and unbuckled his belt and took off his jeans, followed closely by his socks and shoes. Yukiko had followed suit and thrown her t-shirt to the floor, giving him a view of her black bra, which, unlike some of his other conquests, wasn't lacy at all.

Dylan looked admiringly at her as she undressed and stood in front of him, as Yukiko wondered what he might think. She was also slightly nervous because, apart from Dylan, she only went all the way with one other person.

"So, what are you waiting for Blondie? Show me what you've got!" Yukiko teased.

"That's one way of doing it." Dylan chuckled before stripping down himself.

**Some people say my love cannot be true**

**Please believe me, my love, and I'll show you**

**I will give you those things you thought unreal**

**The sun, the moon, the stars all bear my seal **

They embraced, only more passionately then they did the first time. And that was before they fell backwards onto the bed, the distance between them becoming almost non-existent.

**Oh yeah!**

Yukiko let out a loud moan as she could feel Dylan's touch and everything else. It was almost as if they were the only two people in the universe and everything outside the room didn't matter as much as it had before.

**Follow me now and you will not regret**

**Leaving the life you led before we met**

**You are the first to have this love of mine**

**Forever with me 'til the end of time**

Sure, Dylan had his fair share of notches on his bedpost, but this was something different and he couldn't quite describe it. _I haven't felt like this since Roz, and even then, the feeling wasn't this intense. If I could pick one moment that I wanted to last forever, this moment would be it._ He wondered if she was wearing perfume, as her scent was permeating the room.

**Your love for me has just got to be real**

**Before you know the way I'm going to feel**

**I'm going to feel**

**I'm going to feel**

Neither of them knew whether what they were feeling was either genuine or based on a mutual physical attraction, not like it mattered as they were too busy enjoying each other's touch to know the difference.

**Oh yeah!**

There weren't any words that existed to describe the new sensations that they were experiencing and any words that did would be utterly inadequate. Especially as Dylan and Yukiko were both really enjoying getting to know each other.

**Now I have you, with me, under my power**

**Our love grows stronger now with every hour**

**Look into my eyes, you will see who I am**

**My name is Lucifer, please take my hand**

Dylan knew what people said about his family, that his father was the devil himself, but up until his arrival in Inaba, that was the only thing about being the youngest son of Gregory Blake that he found to be remotely pleasant. Then again, he was sure that Yukiko and her parents didn't have that opinion of him.

**Oh yeah! **

Yukiko bent her neck back against the pillow, allowing Dylan the space to gently kiss her on the neck, something that she really enjoyed. So much so in fact that she folded her arms around Dylan's back and dug into it tightly, scratching it a little bit. _Okay, he's DEFINITELY a lot better than Takeru. Which would be an added plus when…. Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves._ She thought, immensely enjoying everything that Dylan was doing.

**Follow me now and you will not regret**

**Leaving the life you led before we met**

**You are the first to have this love of mine**

**Forever with me 'til the end of time**

Dylan wondered if Yukiko would ever leave Inaba if things between them got more serious. Even if it was a long-shot because of everything that was going, he still thought that it'd be pretty cool if she did. Just to see how people back home would react to it seeing as he was always incredibly lucky with members of the opposite sex but Yukiko was something more than just another conquest to him, but he wasn't quite sure how to express that point.

**Your love for me has just got to be real**

**Before you know the way I'm going to feel**

**I'm going to feel**

**I'm going to feel**

Yukiko had struggled with how she might have felt about Dylan before that point, but now she really wasn't sure and she wondered if he even felt the same way. Or if he was just like all the other guys who were trying to win that stupid challenge. Maybe it didn't matter? She gripped Dylan tighter as he gently pressed her down, his blonde hair sort of falling about them.

**Oh yeah!**

They weren't sure how long they'd been going for, but they could feel that neither of them wanted the moment to end even if it was inevitable. However, Dylan and Yukiko didn't really seem to mind it all that much.

**Now I have you, with me, under my power**

**Our love grows stronger now with every hour**

**Look into my eyes, you will see who I am**

**My name is Lucifer, please take my hand**

After they'd finished, they just lay there for a few minutes trying to catch their breath.

"I'm glad that's out of our system. Think tomorrow's going to be easier because there won't be so much tension." Yukiko said, almost gasping for breath.

"I think it would be. Wonder what time it is." Dylan replied.

"Time for you to get dressed and get out of here. We've got a long day tomorrow." Yukiko smiled, watching as Dylan got out of the bed and began retrieving his clothes.

"Ok. So, you don't need me to gather up all your clothes right?" Dylan asked.

"I can take care of myself. Besides, I've got shorts somewhere and a shirt so I'll be fine. Really." Yukiko replied.

"Great. I'll see you tomorrow then." Dylan said. He'd gotten fully dressed and walked out of the room, looking back at Yukiko before he closed the door.

They both wondered what would happen next.

_Kubo Residence _

Mitsuo knew that it was incredibly late, but he didn't care. He'd spent the last few days after his beat down at the hands of Dylan Blake looking for any information about the blonde. What he found had ultimately disgusted him because beyond performance footage and music videos of the blonde's band Dead for Dead, Mitsuo had found arrest records and articles on Dylan's father Gregory Blake.

Firstly, the arrest records didn't make for pleasant reading as Dylan had been arrested on counts of breaking & entering, possession of narcotics, assaulting a police officer and a bogus rape charge that was never proven. And it seemed as if the blonde didn't care about any of that and how it made people perceive him. It was just mind-boggling.

Like anyone else in Inaba and elsewhere, he knew who Gregory Blake was as he had invested heavily in the Junes supermarket chain among his many other investments and companies in his portfolio. Mitsuo also knew that Gregory Blake had no regard for anything apart from money and didn't care about people in different places being affected by his "helping" the companies that he'd invested in. The man was the devil, and that was before getting into all the illegal activities that he'd been involved in such as drug trafficking, arms smuggling and prostitution and he didn't seem to care about things such as ethical business practices.

If Gregory Blake was the devil, then that made Dylan a monster by proxy. And monsters were meant to be eradicated.

Mitsuo glared at the bright computer screen in front of him as he had found something called "Dylan Blake and Friends' Vermont Adventure: Uncut Version" and clicked on the link.

"**We're fucked up and getting fucked! In the lovely state of Vermont! In some dude's house! And the best part is, he probably doesn't even know there's anybody here!" **Dylan screamed, almost mocking anyone unfortunate enough to miss the event. He'd even managed to grab a shot-glass from some girl's navel and down the contents.

Fortunately, Mitsuo had closed the link before he saw anything else. His fists had clenched and he just stared angrily at his laptop, knowing that he'd be damned before he let some gaijin steal his fair maiden away from him. Yukiko was **HIS** and it was high time that he fought for her no matter the odds.

_You think you can stop me? Well, I am the hero and the hero always wins. And you can bet on that because I absolutely refuse to lose to somebody like you!_

**Song(s): A Day To Remember – All I Want and Black Sabbath – N.I.B. The videos for both songs are on YouTube so they're relatively easy to find.**

**Note(s): Apologies for the late update to anyone who's reading**. **Also, as of this chapter or indeed even the next chapter, I will be getting a beta reader so it might take slightly longer to update. Then again, it's better than rushing chapters out with mistakes or errors that I didn't catch beforehand. **


	9. Chapter 7: Good News Bad News

**Chapter 7: Good News Bad News**

**April 15, 2011**

_Dojima Residence_

Yu had, at long last, managed to get up. It had nothing to do with him having a cold or anything like that, but more to do with his initial battles with the Shadows yesterday after being sent back. _I don't think anybody told me about this. That it'd be as difficult as it was at the start the first time. Oh well. _

Yu put on his uniform and mused on the rest of the members of his team that he'd met so far. Yukiko, Chie and Yosuke had all known each other before he, Dylan and Stephen had arrived with Yukiko and Chie being best friends and Yosuke sort of being in the same social circle as the basketball team. He wondered if there was something between Chie and Yosuke because they had a similar taste in movies. Also, something would have to happen between Dylan and Yukiko at some point because it was painfully obvious that there was something going on between them. Everyone else could see it, why couldn't they?

Now that Dylan was working at the inn, maybe he could get to know Yukiko better than he did, or better than the other him did. Yu had managed to figure out the differences between timelines if there were any, or he'd managed to figure out most of them.

He made his way down the stairs and could see Dojima looking up at him with a newspaper rolled up under his left arm and a cup of coffee in his right hand.

"Good morning sleepyhead!" Dojima sounded amused by Yu's state of slight lethargy.

"Good morning!" Yu replied.

"I assume that I can trust you to look after the house when I leave. Have to go to work early again. I'll see you and Nanako later." Dojima nodded before exiting the house.

"So, do you think that had anything to do with the case he's working on?" Yu asked Nanako, fully aware of what the answer was going to be.

"Yeah. I think there were sirens before you woke up!" Nanako replied.

Yu began to wonder how Nanako managed to not seem bothered by the murders and the fact that her father had to work late. Maybe she was a lot stronger than he had thought?

"I'm going to assume that Uncle is going to be working late again tonight." Yu surmised.

"Yeah. I do worry about Dad sometimes." Nanako sighed.

"He's going to be alright." Yu reassured his cousin. Dojima was made of stronger stuff than other detectives and he'd known that first hand. He'd always admired his uncle's strength, and knew that Dojima would believe him about everything when the time came.

"I hope so." Nanako said quietly.

Yu still remembered when each member of the team would face their Shadows and awaken their Personas. Of course, he'd decided to keep that information hidden, as he wanted them all to trust him.

_Amagi Inn_

Dylan had managed to wake up without having any dreams. Of course, he'd spent one of the greatest hours of his life to date with Yukiko and it was unlike anything he'd ever experienced. He also knew that nothing was resolved between them and even if things weren't awkward between them, they'd be at arm's length on a purely romantic level, which suited him perfectly for the moment.

Also, he was working at the inn today and tomorrow so any issues regarding how their relationship or lack thereof had developed since their giving in to their instincts had to be pushed to one side.

Slowly, he leaned over and pulled back the sheets on his bed before sitting up. Dylan stood up and reached for a pair of jeans, socks and a Weyland-Yutani t-shirt because he wasn't sure if wearing a band t-shirt was going to be a good idea or not. After he had got dressed and put on socks and shoes, he reached for the key and exited the room, only pausing to close the door behind him.

"Hey! So did anything happen between you and Yukiko?" Stephen asked good-naturedly. Stephen was, in contrast to Dylan, wearing his uniform and carrying his backpack on one shoulder.

"We hooked up. But we've just got everything out of our systems for the time being. It's not as if I'm falling in love with her or anything." Dylan said, ignoring the vague look of disappointment that passed over Stephen's face.

"Oh. I thought that you'd have figured everything out by now." Stephen muttered.

"Shut up!" Dylan growled. It was almost as if he was trying to deny it, that he did care for Yukiko even if he'd only met her a few days ago and wasn't exactly looking for anything long-term.

"What's with you and all this macho crap? You do know that it just prevents you from forming meaningful relationships with people?" Stephen grumbled, lifting his hands in exasperation before walking down the hallway.

"Yeah, and that's why I still present myself in such a way. I don't really plan on letting myself get hurt again." Dylan replied as he followed Stephen down the empty hallway.

When they arrived at the dining area of the inn, Dylan and Stephen discovered that there were plates of bacon and eggs in front of them along with a plate in the middle that had toast on it and what appeared to be containers of jam and chocolate spread. It also went without saying that they were both very grateful for the fact that they were able to stay in the inn for a year and not have to worry about finding a place to stay. Stephen placed his backpack down beside the table and sat down, almost motioning for Dylan to do the same.

"I know something happened between you and Yukiko last night!" Stephen remarked.

"So, we had sex what of it?" Dylan snarled back.

"YES! I knew it! You got back in the saddle! Yo, Adrienne, he DID IT! HE DID IT!" Stephen loudly exclaimed.

Dylan gave Stephen a gaze that could have killed. Unfortunately, he didn't notice footsteps which had walked into the room and then swiftly exited.

"Are you happy now?!" Dylan's eyes narrowed.

"I'm not but you should be. Jeez. You're the first one to get laid out of either of us and you're being uptight about it." Stephen muttered, swearing under his breath so Dylan wouldn't hear.

"And you've managed to inadvertently piss Yukiko off, if that was her. Good going." Dylan looked annoyed.

The two of them decided to just eat in relative silence after that little exchange. After they'd finished breakfast, Stephen had gone to the lobby of the inn and Dylan went looking for Yukiko.

After about fifteen minutes or so, he found her in what appeared to be a garden by herself. And she didn't look like she was happy to see him.

"What the hell do you want?" Yukiko snapped.

"I just wanted to apologise in case I offended you." Dylan extended her a hand but she didn't take it.

"Well, you seemed to be having fun." Yukiko's voice sounded remarkably cold.

"Oh c'mon. At least I didn't tell everyone about it." Dylan seemed unaware that he'd touched a nerve.

"Because that's such a great excuse. I thought you were going to be different but you're more like all the rest of them." Even if she didn't want to admit it, Yukiko was disappointed with Dylan's apparent change in attitude.

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Dylan almost shouted.

"It means that you're only looking out for one thing. You know what, I shouldn't even bother trying to explain it. If you want to apologise properly, I'll be waiting." Yukiko huffed as she stormed away.

Today was going to be a long day.

_Foster Dulles International Airport, Washington D.C._

Chase and Mina were currently sitting by their departure gate to the flight that would take them to Tokyo, from there they would be getting a train to Port Island to try and convince Ken re-join SEES and then go to Inaba from there. They also knew that their respective ultimate weapons; the **Founder's Blade **and the **Peacemaker **had been transported ahead of them to where they were staying at in Inaba courtesy of Calloway.

"So we've got an hour before our flight leaves right?" Mina asked.

"Yes. I think we're in first class, so that should be a nice change." Chase replied.

Chase took a long sip of coffee and looked around at the various people milling around them. Little did they know that they had been saved from a major terrorist plot and that the people who did the saving were sitting in front of them, and they probably never would.

"Hey, do you think any of this has anything to do with the Dark Hour? Or that terrorist cell that we had to break up in Afghanistan?" Mina wondered.

"The one that was trying to artificially create Shadows right? Well, I don't know and it's not as if Calloway said anything about that to us." Chase responded.

"Of course he wouldn't. He didn't say anything the last time so he wouldn't start now." Mina seemed a little frustrated by a lack of clear information on the matter.

"That's just his job. To be honest, he's like Ikutsuki if you replaced the backstabbing and wanting to engineer the apocalypse with a steadfast dedication to all aspects of his work and what it entails. And that includes keeping secrets at the absolute worst of times." Chase waited for an announcement regarding the flight to come over the airport PA.

"Yeah." Mina replied, her voice lowering to a low whisper.

Chase knew that Mina preferred not to think about the former SEES chairman as he was indirectly responsible for, among other things, Shinji's death and Minato's becoming a part of the Great Seal.

"I'm sorry if I upset you." Chase said, gently taking Mina's hand and holding it in his.

It was a tender moment which was interrupted by an announcement that their flight would be boarding and that first class passengers would be the first to board the plane.

Chase and Mina boarded their flight, not knowing what the next year would bring.

_Yasogami High _

"Wait, you're telling me that Dylan hooked up with Yukiko? And he was telling the truth?" Yosuke asked incredulously.

"Well yeah." Stephen replied sarcastically.

Yu remained silent for the most part, preferring to observe Yosuke, Stephen and Chie over making his own observations. As he'd known everyone in the team before being sent back, he knew about how Dylan and Yukiko had felt about each other, or at least he knew how the other versions of them had felt about each other. Maybe they felt the same way this time?

"WHAT?! I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Chie yelled loud enough to cause Yosuke and Stephen to cover their ears.

"It's true." Stephen was about to say something else but thought better of it.

"And he's only been here for three or four days? That's pretty impressive." Yosuke added.

"It is." Yu, surprisingly, was agreeing with Yosuke.

"Well, I hope that Dylan isn't going to hurt her." Chie said. The possibility had genuinely worried her, especially after what happened with Takeru.

Stephen had suddenly gone quiet much to Yu and Yosuke's amusement.

"So, why'd you go all quiet Steve?" Yosuke wondered.

"I got him to talk about it but I forgot that Yukiko was listening in. Unfortunately." Stephen sighed.

"You've got to be kidding." Chie grumbled.

"I'm really not." Stephen sounded quieter than he usually did.

"You don't just talk about that kind of thing when the person in question is practically standing in front of you." Yu observed.

The conversation stopped as soon as Morooka had stepped into the room as everyone in the class hurriedly returned to their own desks.

"Alright you little shits, Blake couldn't be here so I'd like it if none of you tried to be the funny one while he's temporarily absent." Morooka looked around the room and glowered at the class.

After a few hours, lunch couldn't have come soon enough and Yu was standing at the back of the class just observing Yosuke, Chie and Stephen.

He wasn't sure, but the trio were almost the same as they were when he knew them before he got sent back. However, he'd accepted that they'd be developing in more or less their own way independently of what he'd have thought.

But maybe it was best for him not to make assumptions and just live in the moment until they were ready to know the truth. Even if Yu was unsure as to when would be the most opportune time to tell them.

_Amagi Inn _

It had been a long day for Dylan. Okay, the inn was busy but that wasn't what was bothering him because Yukiko wasn't particularly willing to hear any of his apologies for his earlier conversation with Stephen which was unfortunate.

She was only really talking to him when he seemed like he needed her help. And lunch was, for all intents and purposes, incredibly awkward. Dylan could understand why Yukiko was upset, seeing as he had broken her trust by talking to Stephen about it when he wasn't supposed to.

_Maybe I should try and apologise to her again. _Dylan thought, wondering where Yukiko could have gone as there was what could only be termed as a commotion outside.

After walking over to the lobby, he could see her standing outside and there were camera-crew and journalists all over the place. Dylan looked for news vans and he could see news stations from Tokyo and elsewhere in Japan as well as BBC, CNN, Sky and Fox News. He could also see some MTV crew milling around as word had gotten out that he was currently staying there.

Yukiko might be a very thick-skinned person, but she probably wouldn't be able to deal with some of the questions posed to her.

Dylan walked out and stood beside Yukiko as a gesture of support.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Yukiko hissed, not really expecting Dylan to show up.

"I've been in this situation before! They're going to be eating you alive!" Dylan whispered.

The interview was finally allowed to proceed as normal when this brief interruption ended.

"So, why didn't you come forward with the fact that Ms Yamano had stayed at the inn before she died?" One journalist asked, raising a hand while doing so.

"If she was such a difficult guest why didn't you just ask her to leave?" Another journalist had cut in, unaware that Yukiko was still thinking of a way to answer the previous question.

"What difference would that have made?! You'd have just demonised my family no matter what." Yukiko snapped.

Unfortunately, this just caused the assembled throng of journalists to get even more agitated and ask progressively more difficult questions.

"Hey, why don't you just go back and I'll handle things." Dylan said gently, observing how distressed Yukiko looked at the journalists' lines of inquiry.

"Thanks. Look, I know there's a good person in there somewhere. And you shouldn't be afraid of showing that." Yukiko replied.

Dylan looked at her retreating form and smiled.

"Listen, as MUCH as I'd love this sham interview to continue, you camera jockeys had better beat it. I'm sorry but I'd prefer it if the people who ran the inn weren't disturbed at this time." Dylan turned to go back inside only to have camera-men attempt to rush up in front of him before he closed the door in their faces.

_So, that was my good deed for the day right? Unfortunately, Dad's probably gone and cut me off. Because being a good person is a sin? And I'm the bad guy for not wanting to be like him?_

Dylan was about to go back to the inn but he noticed Stephen, who had somehow managed to make himself hidden in order to avoid the paparazzi.

"Where the hell did you come from?" Dylan asked.

"Uh, school? Anyway, standing up to those guys was pretty impressive. Look, if you wanted to talk to her then I'll just give you your homework later or whatever." Stephen replied.

"Thanks." Dylan nodded at Stephen before going back in the inn. Stephen was following closely behind him.

They'd stepped back inside the lobby of the inn and saw Yukiko standing there by herself. She seemed almost grateful for Dylan's rescuing her from the interview before it would become too hostile.

"Well, I'd better get going!" Stephen yawned. He waved over to Dylan as he walked away, leaving Dylan and Yukiko alone.

"Look, you didn't have to rescue me, alright?" Yukiko huffed.

"I know. About what happened earlier, I didn't mean it. And I don't think of you as just another person that I've been involved with. Plus, I've made some bad mistakes and I don't want you to be one of them. Hopefully you could find it in your heart to forgive me." Dylan sighed.

"I forgive you but that doesn't mean that you've earned my trust just like that." Yukiko said archly.

"Well yeah. But we're cool right?" Dylan was about to say something else but he thought better of it.

"We're cool Blondie." Yukiko responded.

Dylan watched her almost sashay away from him. It was almost like watching an angel. _Oh fucking hell. You've only known her what, four days and you're going soft? ALREADY? C'mon Dylan, you're better than this! _He attempted to snap himself out of it but failed.

He didn't want to admit it but maybe his future self was right. Maybe he WAS falling for Yukiko and he just couldn't realise it yet. Which was absolutely fantastic.

_Dojima Residence_

Yu and Nanako were watching TV until they saw an interview with Yukiko. What surprised Yu wasn't that the interview was taking place so soon after the deaths of Yamano and Konishi Saki, but he could see someone that he wasn't expecting.

"Wait a minute, why is Dylan there?" Yu asked, looking at the TV with an expression of surprise on his face.

_I thought that he didn't care about Yukiko? Or he may have been denying that he does? I don't think that Dylan really struck me as the person who'd talk about that kind of thing before. Maybe I am changing things just by being here._

"So, why's he stopping the interview?" Nanako asked.

"Uncle will tell you eventually. Besides, he could explain it better than I could." Yu lied. Then again, he hadn't really made it sound like a lie though.

"Oh. So, it's a teenager thing. Dad was saying that a bit before you got transferred." Nanako added.

After the interview had ended, Nanako had gone in to clean the dishes and just before Yu went to help, he looked at the footage again and he could see that behind Dylan's gaze was an emotion that he might not have been overly familiar with.

_Does he love her? Wow. I never thought that he'd feel like that so quickly. Huh. _Yu was even a little bit surprised by the development but he didn't show it outwardly. Yes, he was glad for Dylan but he wondered what more could be different this time.

After helping with the dishes, Yu heard the door open and could hear his uncle's footsteps.

"You know, when Hikaru told me that he was letting the son of the man who was purported to be killing the Shopping District stay at the inn, I thought he had completely lost his mind." Dojima sighed.

"Dylan's not like that at all." Yu replied, speaking quickly to defend the person who, in what he hoped would become a different timeline, took a bullet for him.

"If you say so. But, he's got some baggage and people in the department are going to be using that as an excuse to pin the murders on him. They've even said as much." Dojima grumbled darkly.

"So, just do what you think is right." Yu advised. Of course, he wasn't going to tell Dojima that he was speaking from experience.

"Alright. It's getting late, so I'll trust you to look after everything down here until you go to sleep. See you tomorrow." Dojima yawned and walked away, taking his shoes off and placing them on the ground in the process.

Although the TV was off, Yu could see a figure wearing a suit with blue eyes and neck-length blonde hair. And the figure looked like Dylan.

"Oh crap." Yu said.

And that was all he'd say about that.

_Inaba Outskirts_

Adachi hadn't seen his brother Hiroki in about seven or eight months after he had gotten a multiple homicide charge against Hiroki lifted through means that people would've termed illegal. Unfortunately for Adachi, those people included his bosses in Tokyo who promptly transferred him to Inaba and demoted him to make an example out of him.

He looked, and could see a black motorcycle pull up just a short distance away from him and a tall figure stopping the motorcycle and stepping off of it and walking to Adachi. It was Hiroki, and Adachi knew that when he had taken off his helmet. Hiroki was tall, muscular and was currently wearing blue jeans, motorcycle boots and a black muscle shirt complete with a leather jacket that had an eagle on the back.

"Adachi you dirty bastard! It's so fucking good to see you!" Hiroki roared, grabbing Adachi and pulling him into a tight hug.

"Get off me. I've got a job for you." Adachi remarked coldly, ending the hug.

"Alright. I really hope it pays well." Hiroki had lowered his voice down to a normal volume.

"It does. Of course, you have to some kidnapping for me. But that shouldn't be a problem for you. Oh and I need you to keep them alive and unspoiled. So no assault, torture, mutilation or rape of any of them unless I say. Do you understand me?" Adachi whispered.

"Yeah. Hey, I can't believe that I missed the fun before!" Hiroki grinned wolfishly at Adachi.

"Yamano and Konishi were personal. Besides, the errand needs to go smoothly, and preferably without interruptions." Adachi said, smiling just as widely.

"Ah. It's just like old times." Hiroki replied.

"It is, now, let's talk about how much you're going to be getting paid when all of this is over." Adachi added, almost guiding Hiroki to a more secure location.

The good news for Adachi was that he was reunited with Hiroki, and the bad news for everyone else was that he was just getting started.


	10. Chapter 8: Vanished

**Chapter 8: Vanished**

**April 16, 2011**

_Amagi Inn _

Dylan had woken up a little bit tired but relieved that he'd managed to start patching things up with Yukiko. If he didn't stop the interview then who knows what may have happened between them? Maybe she'd still distrust him? Or worse?

While he knew that she wasn't going to fully trust him overnight, Dylan thought that he was in a better place with her than he was yesterday.

He got up and got undressed before putting on boxer shorts, jeans and a Metallica t-shirt along with black socks and shoes. Upon reaching for his leather jacket, he unhurriedly exited the room and began walking to the lobby of the inn.

Dylan, as always, could hear Stephen before he could see him. "Hey! I saw something weird on the TV last night. There was someone who looked like you and he was wearing a suit and had shorter hair than you do."

He allowed that piece of information time to settle in his mind before asking any questions about it.

"Seriously? I don't really wear suits so that guy you saw must have been a fake." Dylan responded.

Stephen had temporarily subsided into a thoughtful silence before he spoke again. "He looked pretty fucking real to me, dude."

Dylan rolled his eyes heavenward. "You're just being paranoid."

"I'm not being paranoid! It was real!" Stephen exclaimed.

Dylan merely laughed in response to the suggestion.

Stephen knew from experience that there were times when you just couldn't reason with Dylan because he was too stubborn for his own good.

Upon arriving at the lobby, Stephen had left while Dylan stayed and waited for Yukiko.

After about fifteen minutes, he saw Yukiko. She was wearing black pants and a red t-shirt along with white shoes and had decided to leave her hair untied.

Dylan didn't know for certain but he could feel his heart rate quicken.

"C'mon Blondie, let's get to it!" Yukiko chirped.

He ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath before saying anything. "Yeah. Hopefully today's not going to be too busy."

"Who knows? It is your second day after all, so it could be busier than it was yesterday. Especially after the interview." Yukiko added.

"Oh that. They didn't have a right to ask those kinds of questions. That's why I went out to help." Dylan explained.

Sure enough, three people had shown up to check in at the front desk. And when those people had been checked in, more people had shown up. This had caused a huge influx of people who were demanding to check in or check out and the day hadn't even properly started yet.

If Dylan was beginning to feel overwhelmed then Yukiko was probably exhausted but she didn't really show it. However, she had a vaguely chagrined look on her face.

"You okay?" Dylan asked.

"I'm fine. Chie was just worried about something that's all. Although, she did sound quite upset about it." Yukiko responded.

Dylan almost immediately knew what it was but he didn't say anything about it.

However, he promptly thought better of it. "Chie's just trying to look out for you, that's all. I guess it'd be worth following up on it."

Dylan looked as Yukiko called Chie and had promptly hung up after a few minutes' worth of conversation.

After another group of guests had checked in, Dylan checked his phone and saw a text from Yu.

**Yu: Hey.**

**Dylan: What is it?**

**Yu: You didn't check the TV yesterday?**

**Dylan: No. Why?**

**Yu: Well, the Midnight Channel was on again last night.**

**Dylan: Seriously?**

**Yu: Yes. The first person on the Midnight Channel had neck-length blonde hair and was wearing a three-piece suit. He may have been holding a glass of scotch in his left hand as well.**

**Dylan: Okay? I don't wear suits and I don't really drink scotch that much. If ever.**

**Yu: About two minutes or so later, I saw a girl who was dressed as a princess disappearing into a castle.**

**Dylan: So you think that it was Yukiko? That explains why Chie was so worried.**

**Yu: It was her.**

**Dylan: What the hell? She's right here. Everything's absolutely fine. You're being paranoid. **

**Yu: Stephen saw it too.**

**Dylan: I know. He told me.**

**Yu: Just be careful okay?**

**Dylan: Will do.**

**Yu: Shit, Morooka's just arrived. Bye!**

Dylan looked up and sighed. _So, has everyone gone crazy? Still, I can't be too careful. Especially after what happened to Yamano and Saki. I've only just started earning Yukiko's trust again and I don't want anything to happen to her. Does that mean I love her then?_

He input Yu's number into his cell phone just in case he needed to contact him.

Dylan realised that he had a break and went to his room to grab headphones before going to the garden.

Upon selecting one of his favourite songs, he put his headphones in and closed his eyes. Dylan wasn't sure why he liked it, maybe because it reminded him of Roz or he was gradually beginning to associate it with Yukiko.

**I watched you walk away**

**Hopeless, with nothing to say**

**I strain my eyes**

**Hoping to see you again**

**This is my curse (the longing)**

**This is my curse (time)**

**This is my curse (the yearning)**

**This is my curse**

**There is love burning to find you**

**Will you wait for me?**

**Will you be there?**

He looked up as Yukiko sat down beside him before stopping the song and taking out his headphones.

"You okay?" Yukiko asked

Dylan thought that her voice was the most beautiful thing in the world at that moment in time.

"Yeah. It's just been weird since the murders. Then again, seeing my dealer almost getting murdered before my eyes back home over a loan that went badly wrong was close enough. I guess." Dylan shrugged, scratching his head.

Yukiko looked at Dylan with a vaguely worried expression on her face. "Oh. So I guess you're used to that kind of thing really."

"Doesn't mean that it doesn't worry me. Anyone could be next. You, me, Steve, Yu, Chie and Yosuke I suppose. I don't know, maybe I'm being a little paranoid myself." Dylan sighed.

There was a brief pause before the conversation changed to a more pleasant topic.

"So, what's New York like?" Yukiko asked.

Dylan paused to contemplate the question before he decided to answer. "It's nice, in a sort of urban kind of way. There's a lot of big buildings and traffic plus Central Park, which is really nice this time of year. But, it's different outside the city and the suburbs I guess."

"So, is there a lot to do in New York?" Yukiko wondered.

"Yeah. It's great because you can be your own person and not have to worry about what anyone else says or thinks. Of course, my dad would say something completely different if you asked him the same question." Dylan replied.

Yukiko paused for thought before asking him another question. "I don't think you have to worry about traditions like I probably would. Or do you worry about them?"

"Why should I? I doubt that longstanding traditions are going to keep me warm at night." Dylan almost sounded bitter.

"Oh. Well, our break's over so we'd better get back to work." Yukiko sighed.

Dylan watched her walk away before following her back to the lobby.

Upon arriving in the lobby, Dylan and Yukiko saw Chie and Stephen looking at them with anxious expressions.

"Here's your homework. Just in case I forget." Chie handed two files over to them with Dylan practically rolling his eyes at the file he received.

"So, you guys didn't have sex again or anything like that right?" Stephen asked.

All that got him was a particularly heavy punch in the arm from Dylan.

"Get your mind out of the gutter." Dylan sounded annoyed.

They watched Yukiko talking to Chie, and Stephen observed Dylan's eyes lingering on Yukiko.

Chie had finished her conversation with Yukiko and just as she was about to leave, Stephen looked between Dylan and Yukiko with a confused expression on his face.

As Chie was walking past them, she noticed Dylan's hands clenching into fists possibly at the thought of anything happening to Yukiko. _Why would he care so much? Maybe he likes her and he won't admit it. Hmm. _

Yukiko had gone, no doubt to focus on some other errand that needed doing.

Stephen waited before saying anything to Dylan in order to see how he'd react. "You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"I think something's happened to her. I need to go check it out." Dylan sounded panicky so Stephen decided to just leave him to it.

Dylan was becoming increasingly worried that something may have happened to Yukiko.

As he searched for her, he heard voices around a corner and decided to make a move. However, he wasn't expecting to see a man in a suit with a blood-red tie and a balaclava over his head and a taller man wearing jeans and a muscle shirt along with a balaclava over his head standing in the middle of the hallway.

The tall man, as Dylan observed, had a crowbar in his right hand.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" Dylan shouted as he lunged at the man in the suit.

He attempted to grab the balaclava but the other man had hit him in the head with a crowbar, bringing him thudding to his knees.

Dylan could hear the man in the suit remonstrating with the man carrying the crowbar. "You can't just kill the kid! Just knock him out but don't fucking kill him! You could've blown the whole operation you dolt!"

The man carrying the crowbar sighed before hitting Dylan again, knocking him to the ground and leaving him in a state of unconsciousness.

"C'mon, wake up! Please wake up. Shit man, you look awful. What happened?" Dylan opened his eyes and saw Stephen kneeling over him. He could also feel Stephen helping him to his feet.

Dylan felt the back of his and saw blood on his fingertips. "I got knocked out by some guy wielding a crowbar. And I saw someone wearing a suit complete with a blood red tie. Like that detective who ran past us when we saw Yamano's body, remember?"

Stephen's eyes widened in fear and shock. "But he's a detective?!"

"I know." Dylan snapped.

An uncomfortable silence subsided over them as they walked to the floor of the inn where their rooms were. Dylan was leaning on Stephen to steady himself because he was shocked at what happened rather than being knocked out with a crowbar.

_Dojima Residence_

Yu was worried. While he knew everyone's cell phone numbers, he was unnerved at the apparent silence that existed since classes had ended for the day. He checked his phone and could see a text from Dylan.

**Dylan: You were right! Yukiko's been kidnapped. I should've listened. **

**Yu: When? Tell me everything.**

**Dylan: Earlier. She was already gone when I found the people who might have done it!**

**Yu: Okay. What did they look like?**

**Dylan: One of them looked like he was in a gang and the other one wore a suit with a blood-red tie. And they were wearing balaclavas so I couldn't see their faces.**

**Yu: Hmm.**

**Dylan: Hmm what?**

**Yu: I just wanted to be sure of what they looked like.**

**Dylan: We have to find her. She could be hurt or worse.**

**Yu: Calm down.**

**Dylan: You don't understand. I should've been there. I should've protected her. I should've….**

**Yu: There's nothing you could've done.**

**Dylan: I can't help but feel that I could've done something alright. I just…**

**Yu: We'll find her. Don't worry.**

**Dylan: I hope so.**

**Yu: We will. **

**Dylan: Okay. See you tomorrow.**

Yu knew that he had to take charge of the situation when they went looking for Yukiko. He'd experienced all this before and the rest of the team hadn't. Well, at least not in this time.

Yu thought about something before voicing his thoughts. "But why would Dylan be so frantic now when he wasn't the last time? Maybe there's something that I'm missing."

What he did know was that he had to check the Midnight Channel to see if there was any further footage of Dylan or Yukiko on it. Yu needed to be absolutely certain that they would appear, and this was the only way to be certain.

Although the TV was off, he could see an image appear on the screen. Upon closer inspection, the girl on TV was Yukiko and she was wearing a kimono like she was wearing in the interview that Yu had seen yesterday. He looked and could see Yukiko standing against a background of black and red chequered squares that had almost been thrown into position behind her.

"**Hello Inaba! I've put on my favourite kimono and my lacy unmentionables and I'm looking to score with a hot stud! Today could be your lucky day, if you're man enough! Actually, there is SOMEBODY who is. That's right, I'm talking about my Blonde Stallion, the one and only Dylan Blake. MMMMM, he's SOOOOO dreamy and so manly! I just wish he could take me right now, live on air for everyone to see. He could even do it on top of the Empire State Building! Because he's a real man and I like a good, strong man. Here I go!" **She turned until she was facing a large, imposing castle and ran inside it.

Yu felt uncomfortable just watching it. But, he could imagine that Dylan was feeling much worse. After all he had hooked up with Yukiko and they were developing feelings for each other as a result.

The TV had gone off again and all Yu was doing now was waiting for it to come on again.

After about half an hour, the TV crackled to life for a second time.

Yu could see a blonde haired teenager wearing a three-piece suit complete with black dress shoes. The boy had neck length blonde hair and cold blue eyes which had no warmth behind them whatsoever. He also had a glass of scotch in his hand with ice cubes in it and a bottle standing close by him. There was also a white powder laid out in front of him as well as $100 bills.

Yu had recognized the blonde immediately.

"**I'd like to extend a warm welcome to any of you fine people watching the Midnight Channel! Especially all you sexy ladies out there!" **Dylan purred.

There was a brief pause as "Dylan" took one of the $100 bills and rolled it up before taking a razor blade and chopping the white powder into lines. He smiled at the camera before leaning against the table and snorting the powder.

"**That's the best part about being rich! You get the best cocaine, the best booze, the best women and everything else you could ever want! So what if I overindulge, it's my right to do that and I'm so rich nobody can tell me otherwise. But, let's get serious for a moment, you're all a bunch of pathetic losers right? You want to be like me right? Well let me tell you how! Stop caring about anyone but yourselves! Attachments make you weak. My dad taught me that you know." **The blonde smiled as four very gorgeous and very scantily clad women walked in, and the first woman was carrying a video-camera.

"**That's it for today folks! I've got some other business to attend to. So I'd better get going!" **The transmission ended just as the women were getting undressed.

_Why can't I shake this feeling of foreboding?_ Yu wondered as he decided that it would be best for him to go to sleep and then think of a plan tomorrow rather than spend the night trying to do so.

_Inaba Outskirts_

"I TOLD YOU that we were only supposed to kidnap one person at a time!" Adachi exploded.

Hiroki had known better than to argue with his younger brother. Especially as it was his plan. "I know that but the blonde saw us!"

"That doesn't mean kill him! Or was I not being clear when I explained all this?" Adachi asked, his voice lowering to a whisper.

"You were." Hiroki said.

Adachi had a retort for that lined up already. "Good."

"There aren't going to be any more mistakes like that." Hiroki promised.

"Great. There better not be." Adachi threatened. However, he was certain that Hiroki knew the message.

There was a short pause as Adachi heard his cell phone ringing so he answered it. "Hello? There's been a kidnapping at the inn? Okay. Keep me updated."

"Guessing they know that the girl's been kidnapped. But they don't know who did it yet! Hiroki enthused.

"That's the plan! I'll be keeping you posted." Adachi walked away from Hiroki before getting into his car and driving away.

Hiroki knew that nothing would stop Adachi when he got an idea in his head. And he didn't care at all.

_Yukiko's Castle, Mayonaka_

For possibly the first time in her life, Yukiko was completely alone and she didn't like it. Especially as she was currently trapped in a castle that could have been ripped out from some movie that featured vampires before they started sucking. And she wasn't referring to blood.

That being said, being alone had given her some time to think about what had happened during the last few days. In between the murders and her mother's collapse, Yukiko had been kept very much on her toes and that wasn't taking into account the presence of three new arrivals to Inaba including Dylan.

She wondered if she could fully reconcile the two sides of Dylan's personality. He was either brash, arrogant and obnoxious or tender, kind and vulnerable which was incredibly confusing as he sort of alternated between the two extremes of his personality. Besides, he'd bragged about hooking up with her to Stephen and saved her from that interview yesterday in addition to helping out at the inn despite the tab apparently being settled before him and Stephen had even arrived in Inaba.

There was a brief pause before the silence was broken.

"**I don't know why I fucking bother with you Dylan. You're a disappointment. Honestly, I wanted Miranda to get rid of you when she was pregnant with you but she wouldn't listen to me. So I'm left with someone who might as well have been retarded given the amount of trouble you've caused me."**

_Is that really what Dylan's father sounds like? All that hatred? For his own son?_

Yukiko shuddered at the utter and complete unpleasantness of it. She knew that Gregory Blake was essentially Persona Non Grata in Inaba because of Junes but she didn't know that the man's contempt for anyone but himself would extend to his own family.

Unlike her own father. The man who taught her everything he knew, and made Liam Neeson in Taken look like a soft touch by comparison.

"_I want you to be able to defend yourself if you were in a situation that placed you in mortal danger. I wasn't always someone who owned an inn, you know."_

The memory came back unbidden, almost as if to protect her from whatever danger would befall her and give her the strength she needed to get through it. At least she was able to fight off one of her captors for a little bit.

Yukiko recognized one or two of her captors as well. One of them wore a suit along with a blood-red tie and the other one wore a muscle-shirt and had what looked like gang tattoos. And even though their faces were covered, she still sort of recognized them. But she wasn't exactly going to worry about that now because there were much more important things to concern herself with now.

**Song: Killswitch Engage – My Curse. The music video for it is on You Tube and it's quite good.**


	11. Chapter 9: Questions And Answers

**Chapter 9: Questions and Answers**

**April 17, 2011**

_Dojima Residence_

Yu woke up and looked around his room. His phone hadn't rung when he was asleep and so he'd assumed that Dylan had gotten some sleep and that Chie and Yosuke probably didn't know that Yukiko had been kidnapped yet.

What he did know was that he had a limited window of time to rescue Yukiko otherwise it'd be too late. The same thing applied to the rest of the team and that went for present and future members of it, well present and future members at this instance anyway.

Yu got dressed, putting on boxers, black corduroy slacks, a grey t-shirt and white shoes before going downstairs.

Nanako was in the garden, which meant that Yu could talk to Yosuke about what was going on without unduly worrying her.

Yu could hear a series of short, loud knocks on the door before he heard Yosuke say anything. "Hey, are you going to let me in?"

He got up and made quick strides over to the door, letting Yosuke in. The latter sat down on the sofa almost as soon as Yu had offered, but this was because they were in a race against the clock.

"I don't know what's stranger, seeing Yukiko like that or Dylan wearing a suit. I mean, it WAS them but I don't know if that's really them or their Shadows." Yosuke observed.

Yu knew exactly what it was but he'd kept quiet before responding. "We've seen this before, and we know that Yukiko and Dylan have definitely had sex at least once.

"Lucky bastard. Then again, she's been kidnapped or gone missing so he's going to be the first person that people are going to blame even if he was attacked by whoever's behind all this." Yosuke surmised, leaving Yu surprised at how much Yosuke had actually known without his having said very much.

"People like a good story." Yu said.

There was a brief pause as they watched the footage of the Midnight Channel again.

Yu and Yosuke looked at the TV as a familiar blonde in a suit flickered on the screen. Said blonde was holding a bottle of scotch in one hand and had a small mountain of white powder in front of him with a razor blade and a stack of $100 bills.

Yosuke leaned in towards Yu, "I remember my dad saying something about seeing an interview with Dylan's dad on the news in relation to some scandal years ago. And he said that he'd never want to meet the man, although I can see why he wouldn't. Swimming in a shark-tank would be a lot safer."

"I know what you mean. Heard this story about what he did to CEOs of companies he'd taken over. They'd leave a meeting or go to a hotel, and the next day they'd be found with their throats slit or shot in the head or poisoned or worse. One of them even committed suicide." Yu spoke in a hushed tone of voice almost as if he didn't want whatever was on TV to appear in front of them.

"**Hello Ladies and Gentlemen! My name's Dylan Blake and I could buy and sell you just like THAT. If my old man can do it, then I can. But seriously, I met a girl and we really connected. Several times. Which leaves me with a dilemma: I could be falling for her but I don't want to feel that way about someone after, according to some people, I kind of killed my girlfriend and unborn son last year." **Before "Dylan" could say anymore, Yu promptly turned the TV off.

"You didn't know about the accident did you?" Yosuke asked, looking worriedly at Yu.

Yu imperceptibly shook his head as a response. "I did. But it was proven to be an accident. And that's good enough for me. I don't care what he might have done a year ago because that's not him anymore."

"That makes sense. I mean, he's had to live with that guilt for a year and this is only going to make it worse." Yosuke sounded perturbed.

"Do you think that he's going to go and rescue Yukiko without any backup?" Yu asked.

Yosuke thought about it, and he knew that Dylan going to the Midnight Channel would be nothing short of a suicide mission. "Yeah. Which is why we should kind of go and help him. Seeing as we have Personas and he doesn't."

"Of course we'd need weapons or stuff that looks like weapons. The police are going to be on high alert after the kidnapping." Yu thought aloud.

Yosuke's face brightened as he made a pose that essentially suggested that he had a bright idea. "Hey! I've got a plastic sword and plastic knives at my place. We'd have to be quick though. Or just distract people long enough for Dylan to find out where Yukiko is and come back."

"That's assuming that he'd want to come back. But, let's just put that to one side for the moment. Anyway, I'll tell Nanako where we're going, and she'll tell Uncle. But I'm not going to tell her everything." Yu felt guilty about not being honest with his uncle and cousin but they'd just ask him more questions.

"I understand. I'll go to my house, get everything and then we'll meet at Junes." Yosuke suggested.

Yu agreed, and Yosuke promptly exited the house and got on his bicycle and rode away.

_Amagi Inn_

Dylan woke up extremely tired, unable to get any sleep whatsoever as worry over Yukiko's disappearance, or more accurately kidnapping had set in more fully than it did yesterday evening.

He got dressed, putting on the clothes that he'd worn yesterday. As hard as he might have tried, he couldn't help but feel that his past was catching up with him. Unfortunately, the grief that he hadn't allowed himself to feel when Roz and their unborn son died had made its presence felt.

_Don't fucking cry. There's no point in trying to change things now, all I can do is try and get her back. Besides, if I don't then I might regret it._

With a heavy heart, Dylan exited his room at the inn, taking his key with him and heading towards the lobby where Stephen was waiting for him.

"You okay?" Stephen asked.

Dylan hesitated a little before saying anything, "I'm fine. It's just been a long night that's all."

"Look, you need to stop blaming yourself. Yukiko getting kidnapped wasn't your fault, alright? We'll find her, don't you worry." Stephen was trying to be reassuring and this seemed to be the best way.

They paused for thought as to what they were going to do.

Eventually, Dylan had thought of a plan. "Okay, why don't we go to Junes and I'll go to the Midnight Channel myself and ask Teddie where Yukiko is? It's not as if I'll be going to look for her myself."

"We're not. Besides, the people who took her are still in Inaba, same as whoever killed Yamano and Saki. So she can't have gotten far. Or maybe she's in the Midnight Channel and we've got to go rescue her. In which case, I don't want to go in without Yu or Yosuke. Or Chie." Stephen added.

"I wouldn't worry about it." Dylan responded tersely.

Stephen lifted his hands to the sky in frustration before continuing. "That's why I should. You're probably bottling everything up like you always do and you admit it because you're too stubborn."

"You're playing the stubborn card? Gee that's helpful." Dylan responded sarcastically.

"You know what I mean." Stephen sighed.

Dylan nodded. "I'm sorry if I'm being difficult or anything."

"It's alright. I'm used to it." Stephen remarked, and he was right. They'd been friends since they were kids and had stuck by each other since.

Dylan checked his cell phone and could see that Yu had texted him earlier.

**Yu: Yosuke and I are going to meet you and Stephen in Junes later. And Chie's going to be there as well.**

**Dylan: Okay.**

**Yu: Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm worried that you'll try and rescue Yukiko by yourself.**

**Dylan: Stephen's already convinced me not to.**

**Yu: So what will you be doing then?**

**Dylan: Asking Teddie if he can smell her. Where she is, I mean. I should have been clearer.**

**Yu: Of course.**

**Dylan: Anything else?**

**Yu: Don't draw any unnecessary attention to yourself, I know what some people here might think of your presence here.**

**Dylan: That I'm the antichrist because my dad's tried to kill local businesses here right? Like I haven't got enough to worry about now anyway.**

**Yu: Precisely. Glad we could have this little chat.**

**Dylan: Yeah. See you later.**

"Well, I really hope this works." Dylan stated.

Stephen simply nodded in agreement.

As they knew that they didn't have much time, they decided to just go to Junes. It did have a food court and the quickest entry point to Mayonaka after all.

_Entrance, Mayonaka _

Teddie had been alone for as long as he could remember before Sensei appeared. However, he had seen the Shadows before and they were bear-y upset about something.

There had been an increase in Shadows that not only fed off peoples' emotions but took on the shapes of the people that they were feeding off of. Naturally, these Shadows would align themselves with the entity that could give them the most to feed on.

The being called Nyarlathotep had attempted to bring about the end and replace the old order with something else on two occasions but he had failed on both attempts and things had carried on as normal. Nyx, however, had convinced a large amount of Shadows to side with her, causing the world of Tartarus to rapidly collapse in on itself after she was sealed.

Out of the two Arisato siblings, Minato was the one who had sacrificed himself to seal Nyx away. Minako, as far as Teddie knew, was still in the waking world and was in a relationship with one Chase Blake. This brought Teddie's thoughts neatly to the newest Wild Cards, Yu Narukami and Dylan Blake.

Yu or Sensei was a natural leader but Dylan had buried those traits deep within himself in favour of living a life without any responsibility. But his future self was willing to embrace the responsibilities that came with being a Wild Card.

That being said, Teddie had no idea he was empty or full but he couldn't remember his former life before becoming what he was. All he remembered was that he was a great man once. And that used to be enough.

Teddie could hear Dylan's voice before he saw the blonde appear before him. "Hey Teddie, have you seen a girl around here? Or smelled her even?"

"Why? Did something bad happen?" Teddie asked.

"Yeah, she got kidnapped and I should've been there to protect her. I know that you can smell me because you've smelled my future self before and we sort of smell similar. But I need you to do this for me okay." Dylan implored.

Teddie had thought long and hard before answering. "Oh, she's the girl who smelled like strawberries! Her name was Yukiko wasn't it?"

"Fucking hell. I couldn't protect her. Just like I couldn't protect Roz or my unborn kid either. I don't know why one mistake can cost so much." Dylan almost slumped down to the floor.

In an attempt to comfort Dylan, Teddie told him where Yukiko was. "She's in a big, scary castle but I didn't want to go in by myself! There are a lot of grizzlies there after all!"

Dylan nodded slowly before standing up again.

"Thanks. You know, you're all right, Teddie. Hey, I'll come back later with Yu, Yosuke, Steve and Chie. Chie's pretty much Yukiko's best friend so she's going to go looking for her too." Dylan looked around for the exit TV and finally found it after a few minutes of searching for it.

"So, I'll be seeing you soon then." Teddie gave Dylan a hopeful smile.

Dylan stepped through the exit TV and gave Teddie a salute before doing so.

_Junes Electronics Department_

Dylan had managed not to fall on his ass out of the TV this time, much to his relief.

"Did you find out where Yukiko was?" Stephen asked.

Dylan looked at Stephen and nodded before answering. "I did. She's in some castle but I couldn't go in without the others. That being said, I'm fucked anyway because there's people here who hate my guts because my dad invested so much money in Junes. So there's a good chance I could be arrested and thrown in jail as part of some witch-hunt."

Almost as soon as Dylan had finished speaking, Adachi had decided to make his presence felt.

"Freeze scumbag! Drop to your knees and put your hands where I can see them!" Adachi levelled a gun at Dylan's forehead, making the blonde drop down in front of him.

Dylan got down on his knees and held his hands up before sticking up his middle finger to the detective.

"I know my rights asshole! You can't just arrest me on some bullshit charge. Besides I got knocked unconscious so I couldn't have kidnapped Yukiko even if I wanted to!" Dylan shouted, the anger and outrage becoming increasingly more apparent in his voice.

Adachi just gave the blonde a wicked grin before squeezing back the trigger. "It's not my fault if people here hate your guts kid. I'd be doing a favour if I arrested you or decided to blow your brains out."

"Come on and do it then bitch." Dylan replied.

"I would but that'd be illegal then wouldn't it?" Adachi snarked.

Dylan hated to admit it but he knew that Adachi was right. He also doubted that people would believe him even if his suspicions were confirmed.

Adachi took triumphant strides towards Dylan and handcuffed his hands behind his back before forcing him back to his feet.

Stephen had wisely elected to just say nothing and follow Adachi and Dylan out of Junes at a distance. He wasn't under arrest but he didn't want Dylan to get hurt or for Adachi to harm him and claim that he was attacked or something like that.

_Inaba Police Department _

"Lucky they just took away our weapons even though they were fakes. Plus they decided to let us go." Yosuke couldn't have sounded more relieved if he'd tried.

Yu on the other hand was feeling more apprehensive. "They only let us go because they found a better lead.

"Wait, you don't think that Dylan is behind Yukiko's kidnapping?" Yosuke asked.

"He's not, but some people in Inaba are biased against him because of his family so they'd be trying to pin the kidnapping and the murders on him." Yu explained.

Yosuke looked worriedly as Chie strode in, no doubt looking for Dylan. "Alright, where's that son of a bitch?!"

"Uh, Chie, we don't know if he did or not! You've got to calm down." Yosuke hissed.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Chie shouted.

Yu decided that it was better to just diffuse the situation before it got out of hand. "He didn't do it. I think it's just a huge misunderstanding that's all."

"I wonder if Dylan might be hiding something from us." Yosuke was giving voice to the possibility that they mightn't be able to trust Dylan.

"He could be." Yu mused.

Chie nodded in agreement, wondering if Yukiko was alright wherever she was.

The trio looked and could see a blonde who looked sort of like Dylan but with shorter hair and a familiar looking red-headed girl accompanied by a boy and a dog. And there was something strangely familiar about the quartet.

Yu walked over to the quartet, wondering just what they were doing in Inaba.

"Oh hello. My name's Chase and this is my girlfriend Minako, but everyone calls her Mina. And this is Ken and Koromaru, in case I forgot to introduce them." Chase smiled kindly at Yu.

Yu shook Chase's hand before introducing him to the rest of his group. "Well, their names are Yosuke and Chie and I guess you could say that we're friends of Dylan's."

The conversation was interrupted by a particularly peeved looking Stephen walking in.

"Dylan's been arrested and I don't think that they've started interrogating him yet." Stephen grumbled, annoyed at how Dylan was being treated.

Chase's eyes narrowed as he looked around for anyone who could explain what was going on, but couldn't seem to find anyone who was willing to do so. Which was unfortunate.

Chie and Yosuke were rightfully concerned over what was going to happen to Yukiko and they voiced that concern to Yu. "So, what if she's hurt or worse? We've got to go and rescue her because there might still be time."

"Wait, isn't there a blacksmith's that makes weapons and stuff to order?" Yosuke asked.

"Oh you mean Daidara-san? Yeah, I mean we'd probably need weapons and stuff right? So, we'll wait for Dylan and see what weapons Daidara has." Chie suggested.

They looked as Chase, Mina, Ken and Koromaru went outside either to wait or to go somewhere else.

Meanwhile, Dylan was sitting in an interview but he didn't have the handcuffs on anymore. Despite having been interviewed by a few of the officers working the case and having been found innocent, he still had to be interviewed by one of the detectives who was working on the case.

He looked up as two officers had come to escort him to another room, and Dylan had assumed that he was going to be put into a holding cell. Dylan was familiar enough with holding cells back home to know what was going on.

However, he could see a medical cross on the door and a familiar looking woman in the room as well.

"Holy shit! I really didn't expect to see Steve's aunt here!" Dylan explained.

The woman gave him a look of recognition. "I was going to say that I'm Dr Katherine Nomura née McAllen but I think you already knew that one. So, how's Steve anyway?"

"Oh, he's good." Dylan looked at the two officers who were almost motioning for them to hurry the examination along before closing the door fully.

Katherine smiled pleasantly and had decided to begin the examination in earnest. "Well, that's good. My husband is a close friend of Dojima's and of Yukiko's parents so that's kind of why I'm the medical examiner at the moment. You wouldn't mind removing your clothing would you? It's just so I can get an accurate examination."

She examined him and took photographs, including a photograph of the wound on the back of his head from when Hiroki had hit him with the crowbar. Among the questions that Katherine had asked was whether Dylan was sexually active or not and he answered that with a yes with his encounter with Yukiko being the most recent time that he'd had sex.

"Ah. My husband Takeshi knew Ryotaro and Hikaru since they were kids and they're the only ones in Inaba besides myself who knows that Hikaru was in the CIA from approximately 1984 to 1993 so I'm surprised that Hikaru hasn't gone all Jack Bauer on you yet. There are some people in Inaba and in this police department who would consider you the prime suspect for both the murders and the kidnapping because of your father's investment in Junes. Of course, practically every officer and detective here is only interested in my opinions as a medical examiner so I can't pass any judgment on the matter until you've been interviewed again." Katherine explained, trying to make this as clear as she possibly could.

Dylan nodded and looked as she placed his clothes in a bag and handed him what appeared to be grey sweats which he promptly put on.

The two officers who were waiting for him escorted him to another interview room where a detective was standing beside a TV with a DVD player that faced a table with chairs around it.

The detective made a move to introduce himself, extending out a hand to Dylan who shook it reluctantly. "Hello Mr Blake, my name is Dojima Ryotaro and I've got some more questions for you. But, if it were up to me I would let you go because the only reason you've been arrested is to satisfy some of the people in the department who just wanted a witch-hunt to happen. Of course, it isn't up to me, so that's why you're here."

"Okay. I've only been here about a week, and I did hook-up with Yukiko before I stopped the interview." Dylan looked at Dojima apprehensively.

Dojima wrote something down before asking him a question. "How familiar would you be with the Midnight Channel?"

"Well, I saw the Konishi girl on it, and while I didn't see Yukiko or myself on it, there were other people who did." Dylan tried to answer that one as best he could.

Wordlessly, Dojima took a DVD and placed into the DVD player. They watched as a picture began to form and a girl who was in an ornate ball gown holding a tiara similar to ones seen at beauty pageants was standing in front of a castle.

"**Good evening Inaba! Tonight I'm gonna score myself a hot stud! And I bet you all know who I'm referring to don't you? MMMM, that's right, I'm referring to the one and only Dylan Blake. I've got my lacy unmentionables on for you my prince, and I'm just waiting for you to RIP them off of me! And you're SO well endowed!" **She held out her hands in a wildly extravagant gesture that caused Dylan to blush profusely and cough with embarrassment.

"**Well, let me know if you see him! Oh and Dylan, I just want you to take me with the whole world watching! Here I go!" **The girl retreated into the castle with a huge smile on her face.

Dylan stared at the screen with an expression of vague surprise before attempting to make light of the situation. "I know that some girls I've been with HAVE compared my manhood to Tommy Lee's but I don't really like to brag about it."

"You are aware of how serious this situation is aren't you?" Dojima asked. It wasn't a particularly unreasonable question either.

Dylan just gave Dojima a terse nod before the detective had pressed play again.

"**Good evening all you sexy ladies and fine upstanding, or not, gentlemen! Hey, I'm Dylan Blake and I'd like to welcome you to our scheduled programme. But first, there's something I have to tell you all. I've developed feelings for this girl and I think I know how to go about telling her or showing her how I feel." **The blonde took a large snort of white powder, which Dylan knew to be cocaine followed by drinking the contents of an entire bottle of scotch.

Dojima's eyebrows furrowed. "I'm just going to assume that the charges you picked up for the possession of narcotics are in fact common knowledge so I want you to answer this truthfully, is that you?"

"First of all, I got off those charges and that's not me. For one thing I fucking hate wearing suits and I don't drink scotch all that much." Dylan responded in an angry manner.

Dojima signalled for Dylan to calm down before continuing the interview. "Alright. One theory that I have heard would be that you arranged the kidnapping and that you got knocked out as a way of drawing attention away from this particular action. The possibility that you potentially slept with Yukiko to gain her trust and stopped the interview also served to draw suspicion away from you."

"Fuck you. I'm not answering anymore goddamn questions!" Dylan exploded.

Dojima grimaced at how angry Dylan was getting by his line of questioning. "I'm going to just ignore that little outburst but you need to be completely honest with me on this one."

"I apologize. So you want me to be honest? I think I might be falling for her and I've only been here for six days! I hooked up with her and I don't know how to tell her how I feel, okay?! She isn't like that but all you care about is hustling me into a fucking jail cell so you can keep up appearances. I'm not stupid enough to ignore what some people in Inaba think about my presence here." Dylan snapped.

"You would be happy to know that I don't possess those same prejudices. Even after your inference that I only care about condemning you based on who your family is." Dojima had managed to get Dylan to calm down again.

Dylan looked at Dojima. "So does this mean that I'm free to go?"

"Yes. I have found nothing that connects you to the kidnapping or to the murders for that matter. You're free to go, Dylan." Dojima exited the room, followed by Dylan.

After Dylan had gotten his clothes back, and got fully dressed, he walked outside and found Yu, Yosuke, Chie and Stephen standing there along with Chase and Mina along with a boy and a dog.

At Chase's urging, the boy and the dog had left, leaving Chase and Mina to talk to Dylan themselves first.

"Well, it's a relief that you're innocent." Chase gently patted Dylan on the shoulder.

Mina echoed the sentiment, but did so with a slight tinge of hostility. "Of course, she's still missing, so you'd better find her."

"He will. I think we'd better go and get settled. It's been a long few days. I'll see you around Dylan." Chase waved before walking away and placing his left arm gently around Mina's waist.

Chie practically sprinted up to Dylan before punching him in the face. "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?! You knew how she felt about you and she knew how you felt about her and you didn't even try and rescue her?! I know that you rescued her from the interview, but c'mon you could have tried to save her from being kidnapped too."

"For your information, CHIE, I did try and got knocked out for my trouble!" Dylan yelled.

Almost instinctively, Stephen moved to pull Dylan back and Yosuke wrapped his arms around Chie in order to calm the situation down.

Chie was about to say something but thought better of it, and allowed Dylan to speak again. "Look, I tried but the guy who attacked me had a crowbar and I couldn't get to her in time. I know it's not good enough okay. And it's brought back memories of things I'd rather forget."

"So, you've fallen for her then?" Chie asked. All the blonde could do was nod.

Yu cleared his throat before speaking. "We need to get weapons, and Chie knows where we can get them."

_Daidara Metal and Fireworks_

After looking around the Shopping District, they found a smithy owned by a man by the name of Daidara who primarily made weapons to order by collectors or re-enactors or as museum or auction pieces which was why it was kept open. That being said, every weapon that Daidara forged was of very high quality.

"So I'm assuming that you need weapons?" Daidara asked.

Chie inclined her head slightly and gave Daidara a smile. "Yes. We'd need a lot of them, but Yu's probably already got one."

There were weapons everywhere, including guns which Daidara had made to a variety of different specs and calibres.

Dylan took a Western axe and Stephen took a hammer whilst Yosuke took two knives and Chie took a pair of greaves. Dylan also took a fan that was reinforced with steel for Yukiko.

After having paid for everything, they went outside to mull over a game plan.

"Well, we can't just walk in with weapons so we need to be more discreet. Plus I've left my katana at Uncle's so I'd need to go and get it. Why don't we get things that can hide them and meet up at Junes?" Yu suggested.

Yosuke's eyes lit up. "That'd work. The Electronics Department does have a sale on, so we could go in when the sale ends so we can just meet up in the food court."

As this was a good plan, they went their separate ways, but knew that they were going to reconvene in Junes later and then hopefully, go and rescue Yukiko today rather than tomorrow or the day after that.

**Note: Thanks to my beta reader afterados for all the support and critiques. Haven't really decided upon a specific chapter length yet so there will be some scope for variation.**


	12. Chapter 10: Whiplash

**Chapter 10: Whiplash**

**April 17, 2011**

_Junes Food Court_

Yu, Yosuke and Chie waited for Dylan and Stephen to show up. It wasn't like they were going to be late especially as Dylan had been really adamant about rescuing Yukiko.

"Where the hell are they?" Yosuke asked.

They heard a succession of loud noises as Dylan and Stephen had essentially sprinted to where they were and sat down.

Dylan wiped his forehead with his left arm and gave the group a lopsided smile. "Here!"

"We were going to wait." Yu deadpanned.

Yosuke interrupted. "Yeah. I mean, it's not as if we were just going to leave you behind."

"Even if you did, Dylan would still have insisted upon finding you." Stephen added.

Chie coughed in order to interrupt the conversation. "I thought we were going to rescue Yukiko not sit around here all day."

"Let's get to it then." Yu stood up and pushed his chair behind him. The rest of the group nodded in agreement before following suit and making their way to the Electronics Department and the TV.

_Yukiko's Castle, Mayonaka _

"So Yukiko's definitely in here right?" Chie asked Teddie.

There was an imperceptible pause before Teddie answered. "I'm bear-y sure. After all, Dylan was the one who said that she smelled like strawberries."

The group looked at Dylan who merely shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I kind of did have sex with her. Ergo, I'd know what she'd smell like."

"I don't think she wanted anyone to know about what kind of shampoo she'd use. Or maybe it was her perfume." Chie whispered to Yu and Yosuke.

Stephen rolled his eyes as if to say that it didn't really matter what kind of shampoo she used. Plus Dylan was annoyingly good at remembering even the smallest details about his conquests without remembering other things about them like their contact information.

Standing in front of them was a castle that could have been ripped out either a really dark version of a Disney movie or a horror movie set in a dark and foreboding castle.

"Let's go already!" Chie exclaimed before running into the castle at full speed.

"Wait, I forgot to give her glasses! Oh well, never mind." Teddie sighed.

Yu and Yosuke exchanged worried glances at each other before Yosuke spoke up. "Look, we can't leave her in there by herself. I'm going after her!"

Yu, Dylan, Stephen and Teddie watched as Yosuke had ran in to the castle by himself.

"YIPPEE-KA-YAY! ALBA GU BRATH! LET'S GO!" Dylan yelled before charging into the castle himself, holding his axe aloft.

Yu looked slightly concerned at Dylan's charging form before wondering if the Dylan that he knew was ever like this. "So, I'm just going to assume that he's always like this."

"It'd depend on the situation really. He can be intense at times but you get used to it." Stephen shrugged.

Yu nodded before walking into the castle himself, followed closely by Stephen and Teddie.

When they'd all arrived in the same place with the exception of Chie, Teddie handed each of them a pair of glasses so that they could see the Shadows better.

Unfortunately for them, the Shadows were beginning to form around them, blocking their path.

"Looks like the only way is through those Shadows. Let's do this, JIRAIYA!" Yosuke called forth his Persona which was essentially a ninja frog dressed in what appeared to be white spandex.

Yu merely gave a Yosuke brief nod before calling forth Izanagi.

Dylan and Stephen looked and could see Shadows approaching from either side of them as well as approaching them swiftly from behind. Dylan had readied himself with his axe while Stephen held the hammer.

They looked at each other and nodded before the Shadows made their move before exclaiming "Let's get rocking!" in unison.

"Over here!" Stephen shouted, blocking one of the Shadows before striking out with his hammer.

Dylan swiftly swung his axe and managed to cut through one of the Shadows as if he were cutting through butter.

As Yu and Yosuke begun cutting a path through the Shadows, Dylan and Stephen were concentrating their attentions upon any Shadow that would be sneaking up on them. While they might not have had a plan before then, what they were doing was clearly working well for them.

After the floor had been cleared of Shadows, Dylan and Stephen hurried after Yu and Yosuke as swiftly as their legs would take them.

Upon reaching the second floor, they looked around in order to get a decent bearing on their surroundings.

"Chie can't have gotten far. She's pretty much a sitting duck without her glasses." Yosuke sounded worried but the group didn't read into it for the most part. Except for Yu who merely gave a wry smile at this development.

They had found an open door and walked through it where they found Chie standing in front of her doppelganger. Both versions of Chie were dressed in their casual clothes, but the other Chie had golden eyes and nothing but disdain for the girl standing directly in front of her.

Yosuke had seen this, but he'd called out to Chie before the doppelganger could make a move. "Chie? Be careful!"

"No, stop! I don't want you to see me like this! Please don't look at me!" Chie exclaimed.

"**Aw, why? Is it because you don't want them to know that you were jealous of Yukiko, your so-called best friend? How she told you that she didn't like that her name basically stood for Snow? And this is despite telling her that she looks good in red or comfort her because the guy she thought was so nice fucked her and went behind her back in order to tell everyone about it! So you decided to protect her then? Ah but you didn't WANT a friend, you wanted a slave!"** Shadow Chie was essentially accusing Chie of something that would almost certainly upset her similar to what Shadow Yosuke had said about Yosuke.

Chie had let out a gasp which turned into more of a sob. "No! That isn't true! It can't be true!"

"**Wouldn't it be easier just to admit it?** Shadow Chie cajoled.

"There's nothing to admit!" Chie retorted.

Shadow Chie let out a long, eerie laugh before continuing. **"If I'm you, then that must mean you're me! So why don't you just admit it to yourself?"**

"No! And that's because you're not!" Chie was sobbing again.

Yu, Yosuke, Dylan and Stephen all pleaded with Chie not to say it but they couldn't do it. "YOU'RE NOT ME!"

"Crud." Dylan was almost expecting what was going to happen next.

Shadow Chie had transformed into a yellow boot wearing, bikini clad dominatrix wearing a mask that bore an eerie resemblance to a banana. And she was carrying a whip.

"**I am a Shadow, of your TRUE SELF!" **Shadow Chie announced triumphantly.

Unfortunately, Stephen had chosen a particularly bad time to make a quip. "So I guess that the safe word is banana right? Hey Dylan, it's just like that time when…."

"Nope. I'm not fucking talking about that. At least not now." Dylan hissed.

Yu and Yosuke both called forth Izanagi and Jiraiya, who were effectively knocked back along with the duo when Shadow Chie swung her whip at them.

While Yu had remembered this encounter, he didn't quite remember Shadow Chie being this tough. "I think we need a better plan. Dylan, Stephen, if there are any minor Shadows, get rid of them while we concentrate on her. Am I making myself clear?"

"Pretty much, yeah!" Dylan called out just as he'd manage to block one Shadow from attacking him.

Stephen grimaced with annoyance as he fought off some more of the Shadows. "They're swarming everywhere and I hope that we don't have to fight them all off for much longer."

"You've got to accept your Shadow because it's the only thing that'll stop it!" Yosuke shouted over at Chie.

Shadow Chie laughed contemptuously at the suggestion and brought down the whip, only for Yosuke to roll out of the way with an unexpected swiftness. **"You'll have to do better than that worm!"**

"I don't think I can." Chie was sounding increasingly shaken from seeing her Shadow.

Dylan cleaved through a Shadow almost as it was going to leap up at him before trying to reason with Chie himself. "I doubt that keeping everything all bottled up is the best solution! Trust me!"

"**I really don't think that you're one to talk." **Dylan wasn't sure but he could hear a voice accompanied by the sound of ice rattling around a glass.

"Be careful!" Teddie exclaimed as Chie was about to whip Yu and Yosuke again and bypass Izanagi and Jiraiya entirely.

Yosuke nodded before he had to get out of the way of Shadow Chie's furious cracks of the whip. "Jiraiya, GARU!"

Shadow Chie was hit by the blast of wind and came crashing down to her knees, buying the group a little bit of time.

"At this rate, there's a bear-y good chance that we could all be dead unless Chie accepts her Shadow!" Teddie cried, watching as the Shadows began to regroup while Yu and Yosuke attacked Shadow Chie.

Dylan had had enough. "God fucking damn it! We're running out of time here Chie and you're the only one that can beat this thing! I know you want to rescue Yukiko as much as I do, so just do it already!"

"I already told you that I can't!" Chie snapped back.

As this little exchange was going on, Shadow Chie had gotten back up and was ready to fight again.

Stephen was more than content to just remain silent and let Dylan speak. "Look, I know what it's to both be jealous of people and to have people be jealous of me. It's only human, believe me."

Much to the horror of both Dylan and Stephen as well as Yu and Yosuke, Shadow Chie had opted to brush Izanagi and Jiraiya aside in order to focus attention on the blonde. Her intent was to knock Dylan down for the count by any means necessary.

Everyone flinched as Shadow Chie practically slammed the whip down on Dylan, who dropped heavily down to his knees. He'd gotten a hold on his axe again before Shadow Chie had moved to get rid of it.

However, he wasn't expecting Shadow Chie to bring the whip down again let alone bringing the whip down harder than she did at first. But he had no choice but to stand up.

"Bring it on you ugly BITCH! My grandmother can hit harder than you and she's dead!" Dylan spat on the floor of the room for emphasis.

For possibly the first time, Shadow Chie was almost at a loss for words.

Yu looked at Dylan like he had lost his mind. "Are you sure that this is a good idea? Because I somehow doubt that you've thought this one through!"

"C'mon Chie, just accept your Shadow. I'm begging you." Dylan extended his arms out wide, bracing himself for the whip to fall again. And it did.

"Wait!" Chie screamed.

Dylan stood up for a second time but he had hunched over in order to catch his breath.

"You okay?" Stephen asked, looking concerned as Dylan nodded before pushing him away.

Yosuke had snuck up behind Shadow Chie in the hopes of catching her by surprise, even getting Jiraiya to cast a Garu spell just to be sure.

"NOW!" Yu yelled as both Izanagi and Jiraiya attacked Chie at the same time before throwing her past Dylan in one remarkably swift motion.

Again, this only stalled the Shadow for a very short amount of time as she was up again and had rapidly closed the distance between herself and the group.

While Yu could use other Personas besides Izanagi, including some that he didn't have access to originally, he had chosen not to use them.

The group watched in stunned silence as Dylan slowly walked over to Chie, the real Chie. "Look, I know that you're a good person and a good friend and that you've always been there for Yukiko. So I'm asking you to accept your Shadow…."

Dylan was cut off as Shadow Chie brought the whip down harder before wrapping it around his neck and proceeding to choke him with it.

"**That should do it!"** Shadow Chie exclaimed, unwrapping the whip from around Dylan's neck and looking down at him with a triumphant expression.

However, Shadow Chie's triumph was short-lived as Dylan somehow willed himself to his feet. And started laughing despite how much pain he was in.

Much to his relief, Yosuke had the presence of mind to heal his wounds and he'd decided to just get his bearings for a couple of seconds.

Dylan and Stephen hadn't paid much attention to the battle after that but when it had finished, Shadow Chie had reverted back to her original form and the real Chie was standing in front of her again.

"Chie, Listen to me, you need to accept your Shadow." Yosuke advised.

Chie gave a reluctant nod as she looked around at Yosuke, Yu, Dylan and Stephen before breathing deeply.

"I admit that I was jealous of Yukiko, especially when you arrived, no offence Dylan but I accept that part of myself now. But, you are me and I am you. I finally understand that now." Chie smiled.

Shadow Chie had disappeared into a flash of light and was replaced by a woman wearing silver boots, a yellow jumpsuit, armour that protect her waist and upper legs, a helmet and was carrying a double-sided naginata as a weapon. The woman called herself "Tomoe" and nodded at Chie before disappearing again.

Seeing Chie drop to her feet, Yosuke moved to grab a hold of her in order to steady her a little bit.

"We're all exhausted so maybe we had better get out of here. And we'll be coming back tomorrow so there's no need to worry." Yu said.

_Amagi Inn_

Dylan was currently in his room at the inn, recovering and reflecting on everything that had gone on before trying to get started on whatever homework he had.

The story of how Chie and Yukiko ended up becoming friends had only made him regret not pushing the issue of rescuing her. Then again, they all needed the rest. Basically, the story was that Yukiko had found a puppy and when she wasn't allowed to keep it, she ran away or at least tried to but then Chie had agreed to adopt the dog.

After getting started on catching up on the homework that he'd missed, he turned on the TV and there was a commercial featuring a copper haired girl wearing a bikini frolicking on a beach.

"Holy shit, that's the girl Steve was talking to!" Dylan exclaimed.

The girl was holding a can of soda in her hand which she drank before winking at the camera. **"I'm tired of diets and sick of going to the gym! Good to see there's something I can handle!"**

She touched the can to her face before a voice-over narrated the rest of the commercial. **"Enjoy the new taste of Calorie Magic!"**

Dylan had finished his homework and changed the channel to one of the news-stations that were covering events in Inaba.

"**Earlier today, Dylan Blake was cleared in relation to the kidnapping of Yukiko Amagi, which has been linked to the two murders that had taken place in Inaba last week and to those murders in Washington D.C. that had occurred several months ago. Investigators are still looking for the culprit, who remains at large. Now in other news…" **Dylan had promptly switched off the TV before the reporter could say anything else.

He checked his phone and he saw that Yu had texted him.

**Yu: Um, my uncle got the results from your medical examination and he wanted me to tell you. As well as giving his sincerest apologies for your wrongful arrest.**

**Dylan: That's awfully nice of him. What did it say?**

**Yu: That you're in perfect health, which doesn't include you getting knocked out yesterday.**

**Dylan: Did your uncle tell you that Dr Nomura was Stephen's aunt?**

**Yu: No. It must have crossed his mind.**

**Dylan: It's amazing the kind of people that you meet sometimes.**

**Yu: Definitely. Although I wonder who you're referring to.**

**Dylan: Yukiko, if you must know.**

**Yu: We're going to rescue her tomorrow.**

**Dylan: Good.**

**Yu: Try and get a good night's sleep. And please don't be so reckless tomorrow.**

**Dylan: I can't promise anything.**

**Yu: Funny feeling you'd say that. Goodnight.**

**Dylan: Goodnight. **

Before going to sleep, Dylan turned on his laptop and discovered that video footage of his arrest earlier that day had ended up on You Tube and on a variety of gossip sites, all with very unflattering headlines. One highlight was **"Girlfriend killer strikes again" **which was utterly inaccurate, but he'd kept the outrage at that to himself because worrying about that stuff was a waste of energy.

Dylan wondered how he was going to tell Yu, Yosuke and Chie though mainly because they wouldn't appreciate being lied to and because he wasn't sure if he'd be kept on the team. Well, he knew that Stephen would end up siding with him no matter but then again he couldn't be too sure. Especially as Stephen had come to his defence when Roz died and he didn't know if he would a second time.

_Yukiko's Castle, Mayonaka _

"**Well. Dylan's been keeping his feelings bottled up and pretending that they don't exist. But he couldn't keep them bottled up forever!" **Shadow Dylan emerged from his hiding place, his right hand holding a glass filled with scotch and his left hand had a tight grip on a bottle. He had learnt a lot from watching Chie's confrontation earlier.

The Shadow's face contorted into a wicked smirk. **"Of course, the emotion that he'd expressed was the fear of becoming the same as his father. Not like that would be a bad thing."**

His other self's liaison with Yukiko had caused certain memories to come to the surface again, including the death of Roz who was pregnant with his son who had died with her.

Shadow Dylan threw his head back and laughed as his plan was beginning to come together.

"**You do know that it doesn't work like that? If your other self were to die, then you would disappear? Surely you must know that right?"** Yukiko-hime mocked.

Shadow Dylan chuckled at her ignorance before continuing. **"Ah, but if I can possess his corpse, then I can escape! I can be FREE! And I'll be the son that Father always wanted. The perfect son."**

"**Do you really think that would make a difference? Or are you delusional as well as annoying?" **Yukiko-hime asked sarcastically.

Shadow Dylan had decided to drop his glass to the ground and watched it shatter before drinking from the bottle. After he'd finished, he'd decided to give her a response. **"Well, I can assume that you didn't invite me here to get me drunk and take advantage of me. Although I'm sure that the thought has already crossed your mind."**

"**You're a pig."** The tone of Yukiko-hime's voice could have frozen Shadow Dylan solid.

Shadow Dylan merely brushed that complaint aside before continuing. **"How about this, you help me and I'll help you? Of course, I'll be observing my other self and his PATHETIC friends fight their way up here. If you don't mind, of course."**

"**I wonder why you decided not to kill them." **Yukiko-hime replied.

"**Because it's not a part of my plan Princess. I honestly don't care if Yukiko lives or dies but I want him alive. Because I will torture him, kill him and then take him over. With or without you."** Shadow Dylan explained, smiling sadistically at the thought.

Yukiko-hime sighed and pouted. **"But he's MY Prince."**

"**You do know that when I take over his body, that I'll be your Prince instead? And wouldn't you rather be with a real man?"** Shadow Dylan asked, advancing slowly towards Yukiko-hime before roughly grabbing her by the wrists.

"**Get off me! My true Prince wouldn't treat me like this!"** Yukiko-hime pushed Shadow Dylan back. Wrong move.

Shadow Dylan broke the bottle and held the now broken bottle to her throat. **"I'm not your Prince, bitch. So strip. NOW."**

Reluctantly, Yukiko-hime undressed, with Shadow Dylan admiring the contours of her body before following suit. He'd also dropped the broken bottle by this time in favour of just shoving her against a wall as he undressed as well.

"**It's nothing personal." **Shadow Dylan whispered as he tightened his grip.

After all, if the real Dylan had buried these thoughts and feelings deep down, then it was his duty to act on them. Because his father Gregory did.

**Author's Note: I have been experimenting with a new writing style, so let me know if it either works or if I should change it in some way. Apologies if the last scene in the chapter is a little bit too dark, but I've given Dylan's Shadow a lot more darkness in comparison to a lot of the other Shadows. Except Teddie's. **


	13. Chapter 11: New Strength

**Chapter 11: New Strength**

**April 18, 2011**

_Mayonaka_

Shadow Dylan felt nothing but contempt for his own kind, especially Yukiko-hime who was blinded by her own desires to the point where she would put them beyond anything else. He had his appetites sure, but he knew that his own plans for escaping this wretched place were more important. And he was willing to put those plans above anything else, even the majority of the unenlightened Shadows who were slaves to beings that existed beyond their comprehension.

The real Yukiko was currently in the uppermost level of the castle, and he fully intended to kill her no matter how Yukiko-hime's attempt to kill the group went. It would break his originator's heart after all, and that along with the deaths of his friends would be enough to make him stay and let him be possessed willingly. Or not.

"**You should be grateful Princess. I have shown you that the faith you have in your Prince is misplaced." **Shadow Dylan taunted. And he'd received no response in return, much to his disappointment.

He smiled at the thought of **possessing **the Disappointment, making him **suffer**, hearing him **scream**, feeling his bones **snapping** and making him **beg** for death. **"No, no, no Dylan. I'll give you death, but you'll have to be beneath me first. I'll make you stay here with me until I kill you and take your body. That's an improvement, isn't it?"**

Shadow Dylan could feel a certain tightness in his trousers at the thought and had allowed his right hand to wander downwards.

"**I'll make you SUFFER Disappointment. The thought of it is making me…." **Shadow Dylan let out an unearthly moan before removing his hand, only the fingertips were covered in a strange sort of ichor-like substance.

He shook it off and let out a contented sigh, calling forth another bottle of scotch as he did so.

Shadow Dylan was, of course, going to kill Dylan's friends in order to break his spirit because the plan wouldn't work otherwise. Besides, the last time that Dylan's spirit was broken so badly was when Roz and his unborn son died in that accident. That was part of how Shadow Dylan came to be so he remembered every last detail of it.

After all, Shadows were the repressed emotions of their hosts, and Shadow Dylan was a combination of Dylan's deep-seated fears of being like his father, his hatred for everything that his father stood for and his rage as well as his long-buried grief for Roz. Grief which had festered within.

What did it matter? Dylan was still going to die and he was going to do it. And nothing would stand in his way. His freedom was all but guaranteed.

_Yasogami High_

"We're going to have to go over a plan at some point. Just not now." Yu said.

Yosuke agreed, but he wondered if it was better to wait for the rest of the team. "I agree, but I just think that we should let everyone else contribute. It's only fair after all."

"That makes sense." Chie interjected.

She was about to say something else but Dylan and Stephen had finally managed to arrive, attempting to sneak past everyone else in the room in order to get to the group and doing so with mixed success.

Stephen was standing while Dylan sort of leaned against a desk. "So, what did I miss?"

"I was just saying that we needed to discuss a plan later. You know, because there's too many people here." Yu explained.

The majority of the room, except perhaps Aika, had been giving Dylan looks that ranged from sympathy to a sort of silent admiration. They'd all seen the broadcast and the coverage of his wrongful arrest as well as how people had reacted to it.

Dylan and Stephen just rolled their eyes at each other. Morooka had stepped in the room, prompting the group to return to their own seats.

"Amagi still hasn't been found so I guess that must make her easy then? Or is that because Blake has corrupted her? You know, he might not have kidnapped her but that doesn't mean he's entirely innocent. He could've been fucking her for all we know." Morooka's rant soon devolved into a series of personal attacks on Dylan.

The only emotion that Dylan could feel regarding Morooka's rant was rage. It was all he could do to keep his cool and not respond with his own set of personal attacks. But he couldn't take it anymore so he decided to speak up, "Listen asshole, I had nothing to with Yukiko's disappearance or her kidnapping. I got knocked out by one of the kidnappers, so I wouldn't have been in a position to get up and kidnap her myself. And I thought that you were meant to teach not spout a bunch of bullshit? Some teacher you are."

"Listen, I'm the one who teaches this class not you so shut up. I don't think your father would be too happy to hear about further incidents." Morooka sneered.

However, Dylan had a point. The media had leaped upon his father's business activities and his past, building a case for him possibly kidnapping Yukiko when he was wrongfully arrested for it. The police had decided to just release a statement that would exonerate him while also deflecting any blame from themselves.

Also the Chief of Detectives along with a lot of other police and detectives had wanted him to go to prison for the Hanged Man murders and Yukiko's kidnapping despite having no evidence that would link him with either crime. Dojima had managed to get past any bad feeling that might have existed towards Dylan and just decided to interrogate him based on the evidence that was in front of him.

_I should probably sort through all the cards from Class 2-2 that were left in my locker. It was a nice gesture, but I don't want to draw too much attention to myself_. Dylan was sure that they knew about why he got transferred to Inaba but he wasn't sure that mattered at the moment.

Lunch had finally arrived so Dylan and Stephen made their way to the roof. They looked and they saw Yu sitting down with Yosuke and Chie.

"As I was saying, we need to get a plan together if we're to rescue Yukiko." Yu began.

They agreed but they just needed to be sure of some things.

"So, what, Stephen and I are just going to hang back again?" Dylan asked.

Yosuke had been quicker to explain that rather than Yu. "Yu, Chie and I have Personas so we'd be in front. It's nothing personal but it could be dangerous for you guys."

"I'm sure that Yukiko would rather see you safe Dylan." Chie interjected.

Stephen nodded in agreement. "I agree. I mean, he wants her back the most after all."

The conversation had continued until the bell sounded, with Dylan still unclear as to whether or not he should tell the group about every detail of his past. He wasn't quite sure how they would react, particularly to his allegedly causing the deaths of his girlfriend Roz and their unborn child a year ago.

_Yukiko's Castle, Mayonaka_

While the team were discussing their plans to rescue her, Yukiko was trapped in the castle by herself. Well, that had been true up until the moment she saw a brown haired girl her age with blonde streaks in her hair, hazel coloured eyes, jeans, white shoes, a blue t-shirt and a dark blue hooded sweatshirt carrying a Bo staff.

"Who are you?" Yukiko asked.

The girl ran a hand through her hair before answering. "I'm Roz, and I was dead up until about two days ago. You must be Yukiko right? Don't worry, I'm not mad at you for what happened between you and Dylan."

"That's good to know. Still doesn't explain why you're even alive in the first place." Yukiko observed, unsure if Roz was the real thing or an imposter.

Roz considered it a fair observation. "Well, I am real. I was brought back to life for some reason but I don't exactly know or remember what that reason is. Then again, it must have been something important."

"Okay. Maybe there's better questions that I could be asking. Like why the hell would people want to kidnap me?" Yukiko asked.

"You know that interview you gave right? The one that Dylan rescued you from? Maybe that's why someone would do it. Plus, your inn's been getting a lot of coverage from the media because the Hanged Man murders and everything." Roz responded.

Yukiko nodded in agreement, despite not knowing how Roz knew all this information. "Right. So how do you know all this?"

"I got caught up with everything when I was brought back, so that's how I know." Roz was sure that would be enough.

Somehow, Yukiko seemed to understand. It was odd that she was having a conversation with someone who'd been dead for about a year but then again things had been strange for almost a week.

Yukiko thought hard about asking her next question. "So, you don't mind what happened between Dylan and me? Just in case you still have those kinds of feelings for him?"

"I don't. Look, he's happier with you than he ever was with me so I really don't mind." Roz reassured.

They'd decided to just for when the team would arrive, plus Roz knew that Dylan's Shadow wouldn't exactly be merciful if he found them, or found out that she had managed to make contact with Yukiko. Roz also knew that Dylan's Shadow was the manifestation of everything that Dylan's father wanted him to be which made their situation more dangerous.

_Junes Food Court _

"I'm sorry about yesterday." Chie apologized.

Dylan hadn't really had much of a chance to talk about what happened yesterday at all. "It was your Shadow. And that's not even the worst thing a girl did to me."

"EWWW! Anyway, my Shadow was a part of me, so technically it was me." Chie explained.

They were currently having this conversation away from the rest of the group so they wouldn't overhear what was being said.

"I guess. Then again, I was the one who slept with Yukiko and rescued her from that interview so this is partly my fault." Dylan sighed.

Chie laughed a little at that, and she wondered how Dylan could be so calm about everything. "I know. But you, Stephen, Yu and Yosuke have become my friends as well, so I do feel kind of bad about it. I think that your determination to fight through the pain my Shadow was causing you was quite noble, and you're a better person than you might think."

"Thanks." Dylan was a bit lost for words at Chie's assessment of him. Especially as they'd barely known each other for a week and he hooked up with her best friend.

Chie looked over as the rest of the group was making their move. "We'd better get going. Don't want to be late you know."

The group didn't say it, especially Yu, but this rescue was going to be more difficult than they might have anticipated.

_Yukiko's Castle, Mayonaka _

The plan, as they'd soon discovered was to put the people in the group who could use Personas at the front. Dylan and Stephen would be occupying more-or-less the same role they were yesterday until they would get Personas of their own.

It had been a long journey, but it was less of a struggle now that Chie had a Persona of her own. They'd managed to reach the fifth floor of the castle and they had entered a room where Yukiko's Shadow or rather Yukiko-hime was standing beside what appeared to be Stephen's Shadow. The latter Shadow was wearing camouflage pants, black shoes, and a black t-shirt with a white skull design on the front and he was standing silently.

"**It appears that I have some uninvited guests!" **Yukiko-hime exclaimed. She'd even managed to state the blatantly obvious.

The group knew that it wasn't Yukiko but they had decided not to say anything. So it was Yukiko-hime's turn to speak again, **"I think that one of you might be my Prince!"**

"Yeah, that's awesome but would you mind telling us where the real Yukiko is? Or better yet, just taking us to her?" Chie asked.

Yukiko-hime dismissed the suggestion completely. **"Why should I?! I want to find my Prince Charming!"**

"Oh fucking hell. I'm right here, so will you just take us to her? Please?" Dylan implored.

"**You might be a lot of things, but you are not a Prince."** Yukiko-hime answered contemptuously.

Stephen was looking across at his Shadow who remained unresponsive for the time being.

"**Wonder if I can find my Prince OR score with a hot stud? Bye-bye for now!" **Yukiko-hime asked.

Teddie looked quizzically at Dylan and Yu as well as the rest of the group. "OH, so Dylan and Yukiko scored with each other?"

"Shut up." Dylan snarled.

Unfortunately for them, the door had closed and locked behind Yukiko-hime's retreating form.

Shadow Stephen had also chosen this moment to finally speak up. **"Who the fuck are you losers? The Boss told me not to let you up here."**

"So who exactly is your boss then?" Stephen asked.

Shadow Stephen gave his other self a look of what could only be described as pity before answering. **"Same as yours. C'mon, you've defending him constantly the last year and he's ALWAYS been better than you."**

"His girlfriend and unborn son died and he got blamed for it. What else was I meant to do? I couldn't just throw him under the bus." Stephen replied.

Shadow Stephen began to laugh at his other self. **"You're kidding right? And what has he done for you lately, huh? NOTHING! He doesn't deserve to have you as a friend. But what do you do? You just let him walk all over you! It's like you're his own personal doormat. Pathetic." **

"Fuck you. You don't know me. And besides, Dylan's my friend and friends have each other's backs. Always." Stephen growled.

"**Oh but I do. You see, I am you and you are me. There's no point denying it!" **Shadow Stephen smirked.

Stephen's hands clenched into fists as he took a deep breath. "You are not me."

Shadow Stephen wasn't about to let it lie. **"Oh but I am!" **

"No you're not! YOU'RE NOT ME!" Stephen shouted.

Shadow Stephen sighed before making a reply. **"Fine, have it your way. At least this isn't going to take very long."**

Shadow Stephen had transformed into a tall knight wearing a silver suit of armour and was carrying a hammer. **"It's time I showed you the true meaning of strength! By crushing all of you!"**

Yu, Yosuke and Chie each summoned Izanagi, Jiraiya and Tomoe before dropping into their respective fighting stances.

"**I am a Shadow, of your true self!"** Shadow Stephen's voice echoed loudly around the room.

Yu looked across at Shadow Stephen as he'd wondered aloud. "So all the Shadows are symbolic then? If they were then that would explain so much."

"Be bear-y careful! That Shadow's dangerous!" Teddie warned.

The warning couldn't have come soon enough as the trio had to dodge an attack from Shadow Stephen.

"So, do we have a plan to beat this thing or are we just going to keep dodging indefinitely?" Yosuke asked.

Chie had spoken up as well. "Yeah, I don't want to die here you know!"

"Alright. I think that it or he might be weak to Bufu." Yu replied. He looked over at Teddie who nodded back.

Chie commanded Tomoe to cast a Bufu spell, which caused Shadow Stephen to drop to his knees.

"NOW! Yu exclaimed, as Izanagi, Jiraiya and Tomoe attacked Shadow Stephen at once.

Shadow Stephen had stood back on his feet and guffawed at them. **"It takes more than a little cold to defeat me!"**

Yosuke looked worriedly over at Chie as he realised what Shadow Stephen was going to do. "Chie, get down! Quick!"

A jet of flame cascaded down over Chie just as soon as she dropped down to her knees. She was miraculously unscathed however.

"Okay. This might be more difficult than I was previously expecting." Yu muttered.

"**Don't think I didn't hear that!** Shadow Stephen roared.

The Shadow had by this point, parried one of Jiraiya's attempts at stabbing him by grabbing the frog-man by the throat and throwing him back.

Yosuke had slumped forward and clutched his throat, briefly putting away his knives to do so.

Yu attempted to rush Shadow Stephen, only for Shadow Stephen to be faster than him. The two clashed briefly before Shadow Stephen pushed Yu back and was about to strike but Izanagi had stopped the attempt.

"**Son of a bitch!" **Shadow Stephen bellowed as Izanagi stabbed him through the chest, black ichor erupting from the wound.

Izanagi only stared at the Shadow with a cold look in his eyes as he'd bought time for Yu to get back to the others before stepping back.

All Shadow Stephen did in response was cast a spell on himself that made him resist against ice spells such as Bufu.

The Shadow's triumph was short-lived as Yu, Yosuke and Chie all attacked Shadow Stephen along with their respective Personas.

However, Shadow Stephen was still standing and laughing at them contemptuously. **"Do you REALLY think that's enough?! Then BURN!" **

Yu, Yosuke and Chie each dropped into defensive stances as they were engulfed in flames, hoping that they'd survive to get to the top of the castle.

Eventually, however, the spell wore off and the group could exploit Shadow Stephen's weakness again.

"Tomoe, BUFU!" Chie commanded, the burst of ice sending Shadow Stephen dropping to his knees again.

Stephen was beginning to feel increasingly guilty about the situation. "I get it. Maybe I have been resentful of having to defend Dylan so much. And I have been feeling like I've been stuck in your shadow, no offense or anything."

"Yeah. We're friends no matter what, right?" Dylan had accepted Stephen's apology and hugged him in a manly fashion.

Shadow Stephen returned to his original state and looked at Stephen and Dylan with a smile on his face.

Yu, Yosuke and Chie each dismissed their Personas and watched as the Shadow disappeared in a burst of bright light.

The Shadow had transformed into a tall figure wearing black trousers with what appeared to be flame-decals, a black shirt and a red mask with diagonal slashes of black. The figure's hands and lower arms were covered by heavy matching gauntlets and instead of hair, the figure had flames emitting from its head.

The figure turned into a card and disappeared into Stephen's outstretched palm.

"So this is my Persona? Ho-Musubi." Stephen smiled.

Yu, Yosuke and Chie were each bathed in a healing light that soon disappeared.

The silverette looked around the group and grinned. "On to the top of the castle then."

Almost as soon as he began walking, Dylan began to sprint ahead with the rest of the group following behind.

…_.._

Shadow Dylan was observing all of this silently from a hidden vantage point. And the frustration was already starting to set in.

"**Do I have to do EVERYTHING myself around here? Damn it Brother, I expected you to do ONE THING. And you failed me." **The silence was soon broken in anger.

He hoped that the Princess could kill all of them except for Dylan but this was looking increasingly unlikely as Stephen's confrontation had ended so abruptly. Shadow Dylan had no qualms with killing but he wanted to make sure that the rest of the group couldn't interfere in his plans.

"**WHY IS MY OWN KIND SO USELESS?!" **Shadow Dylan's voice rose into an almost Al Pacino-like bellow of rage.

Contempt wasn't even the first word that he could think of to describe how he felt about both Shadows and the majority of humanity. Except for Gregory Blake, who was actually quite a compelling figure despite his occupation as some sort of demonic figure in the mind of his other self to the point where there was a dissociation between the two based on their mutual dislike for one another.

Shadow Dylan's mouth turned into a rictus snarl as he poured himself a glass of scotch. Perhaps, he was contemplating what would happen if he failed to kill Dylan, or if the plan failed for that matter.

All he could do now, was wait.

**Note: For anyone still hesitant about reading and reviewing, the later chapters of LNWU are nothing like the earlier chapters. If anything, the latter chapters are much better. **


	14. Chapter 12: Uncaged

**Chapter 12: Uncaged **

**April 18, 2011**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Persona series which is owned by Atlus and its parent company. JustCharles owns Reiko Setsuka as well. Just in case there's any issue. **

_Yukiko's Castle, Mayonaka _

Dylan was well in front when the group had gotten to the top floor of the castle but there weren't any Shadows to be found.

They had arrived at a set of doors that was firmly shut and wondered how it was supposed to open.

"Hey! Whoever's in there had better open the goddamn door!" Dylan shouted.

He'd attempted to try and force the door open but it didn't work. Seeing this, Yu, Yosuke, Chie and Stephen all went to try and help him and had managed to pull the door open

Dylan could see Yukiko and a very familiar girl carrying a Bo staff who he wasn't really expecting to see again. "ROZ? What the hell is going on?"

"Jeez, will you relax? Yukiko's fine! Oh, sorry where are my manners? My name's Rosalyn but everyone calls me Roz but Dylan, Steve and Yukiko would know that already." Roz answered.

Yu looked a little bit surprised by Roz's presence because he knew that she wasn't alive originally. _Well, this is definitely new. I wonder what this is going to change if anything. _

Yosuke and Chie were as surprised to see Roz but they were feeling less ambivalent about her arrival along with Teddie. Even Stephen was quick to agree that her arrival if it could be called that was a good thing.

Chie was also incredibly grateful that Yukiko was still alive and unhurt. "Hey! We're here to rescue you. Oh, and Roz, thank you for looking after her."

"Thank god you're alive, Yukiko. I've really missed you and I think I'm finally ready to have a conversation with you about where our relationship could possibly go. I'm sorry that I couldn't rescue you when you got kidnapped." Dylan added.

Dylan and Yukiko embraced each other, but the moment was short-lived as someone who looked just like Yukiko had appeared before them. She was wearing the same Princess outfit that she had worn on the Midnight Channel whereas Yukiko was wearing the same clothes that she was wearing when she was kidnapped.

There was also a large golden birdcage in the back of the room which could have had some underlying symbolism behind it.

Yukiko-hime looked around at the group before her eyes rested on Dylan. **"I see my Prince, but I also see non-Princes. Although, I'm not so sure about my "Prince" now."**

"Wow. You really know how to twist the knife in." Dylan joked.

Unfortunately, Yukiko-hime didn't really find the joke all that amusing. **"Chie was supposed to help rescue me but she pointed out how I was just going to inherit the inn anyway. Honestly, inheriting the inn and going through manager training? I wish that the inn could disappear forever!"**

"I don't really think that's true at all." Yukiko responded.

Dylan briefly scrambled to say something that was going to reassure her. "I totally understand. But I really don't think it matters."

"She's lying." Yukiko replied.

Dylan glanced at the group before turning his attention back on to Yukiko-hime. "So why are you so unsure that I'm your prince anyway?"

"**You would have let me ROT in Inaba" **Yukiko-hime snarled.

Dylan stared quizzically at Yukiko-hime before continuing. "So you were expecting me to take you back to New York with me? It's really not as simple as you'd think. But if that's what you wanted, why didn't you just say so? You don't need to pretend that you're so invulnerable all the time."

"Maybe you're right. But then again, it's not your place to say." Yukiko added.

"**I DON'T want your help Blondie." **Yukiko-hime replied.

Dylan waited for Chie to get a little bit closer before speaking again, "So you're expecting me to rescue you?"

"**You couldn't rescue me. You know, despite all your talk of rebelling against tradition, you're just a pathetic clown and I know now that a clown could never be my prince."** Yukiko-hime gave Dylan a smile that radiated pure contempt.

The blonde had to actively resist the urge to laugh in the "Princess's" face. "Let me guess, you wanted me to swoop in and carry you off into the sunset right? I'm sorry but it really doesn't work that way. If you want me to make a list for you, well, there's Yu, Yosuke, Chie, Steve, Teddie I guess, Roz, and myself. That is, if you want any of us to come and rescue you. Which I'm sure you do."

"**YOU'RE NOT LISTENING TO ME! I JUST WANT THE INN TO BURN TO THE GROUND!" **Yukiko-hime roared.

"You're not me." Yukiko interrupted.

Yu's brow furrowed in a mix of concern and worry. But, it wasn't going to be his place to say anything.

Chie tried to frantically get Yukiko to stop, "No! Don't say it!"

"**I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. What were you trying to say?" **Yukiko-hime asked.

"You're not me! How dare you!" Yukiko exclaimed.

"Well, what do we do now?" Yosuke asked.

Stephen surveyed the unfolding scene before him with an expression of worry. "I don't think there's much that we can do."

"**No, I am me and there's nothing that can be done!"** Yukiko-hime burst into triumphant laughter at the thought.

Chie attempted to grab Yukiko but was blown back along with Roz and Dylan. Yukiko was also trapped within the confines of the cage.

Yukiko-hime meanwhile, had transformed into a large red bird with feminine contours and a white heart on her chest. Said bird also had Yukiko's hair, an observation which wasn't lost on the group.

"I've got a very bad feeling about this." Dylan muttered.

"**I am a Shadow, of your true self!"** Yukiko-hime exclaimed.

Dylan looked at the transformed Yukiko-hime before looking over at Yukiko and sighed. "I guess it's up to us to save her from herself."

"It is. Now, Yosuke, Chie, Stephen and Roz, I think it's time we call our Personas." Yu looked resolutely at Yukiko-hime before unsheathing his katana.

Yu summoned Izanagi, Yosuke summoned Jiraiya, Chie summoned Tomoe and Stephen summoned Ho-Musubi.

Roz's Persona, Reiko, was a woman wearing a samurai outfit adapted for the female form sans the helmet, with long red hair and a mask that covered her face up to the nose. She was also wielding a katana.

Yukiko-hime laughed contemptuously at them. **"There's no way that you can possibly fight me, let alone defeat me!"**

The Shadow had even decided to use fire against them, and the five Persona users could feel it. Although, Stephen could feel it a little less because Ho-Musubi was essentially a being of fire himself.

_I thought it'd be easier than this._ Dylan stared up at Yukiko-hime, a plan beginning to form in his mind.

He made a sprint for the cage, only for Yukiko-hime to drop a chandelier on him that would have killed him if not for Tomoe shoving him out of the way.

"Could you please not do that again?!" Stephen and Roz shouted in unison.

"**My prince will arrive soon!" **Yukiko-hime exclaimed.

Suddenly, a bright light shone in front and slightly to the left of the Shadow and a Prince Shadow had appeared.

Shadow Dylan's eyes lit up when he saw the Prince. **"Hmm. Maybe they'll die FASTER now. And then I'll make my move!"**

"Stephen and I will deal with the Prince. Yosuke, Chie, Roz, you deal with the main Shadow. Good luck Dylan." Yu ordered.

Dylan fought his way through the weaker Shadows as he saw Yu and Stephen as well as Izanagi and Ho-Musubi getting some good hits on the Prince. Chie or rather, Tomoe, had managed to knock down Yukiko-hime with a Bufu spell but this was only temporary. Yosuke and Roz as well as Jiraiya and Reiko had managed to damage Yukiko-hime a little bit too.

The Prince was destroyed so the remaining Shadows had fled.

Shadow Dylan merely glared at his "son" in contempt and was seething with barely contained rage. **"Why must I always be surrounded by INCOMPETENTS?! Why? TELL ME WHY?!"**

Yukiko-hime had tried to recreate the Prince but she failed in the attempt.

"**My Prince has gone!" **Yukiko-hime lamented.

Dylan temporarily holstered his axe to clap his hands. "That was always going to happen."

"**SHUT UP!" **Yukiko-hime screeched.

"C'mon, you can stop this. I've always been there for you." Chie pleaded.

Unfortunately, Yukiko's Shadow was in no mood for Chie's speech and had sent a jet of flame at her. But Dylan had pushed her swiftly out of the way.

Dylan's eyes were almost watering at the smell of his burning flesh and at the pain of being burnt. "It fucking hurts. And I smell like burnt meat. Seriously, I'm so burnt that Gordon Ramsay would start swearing if he saw me."

Yosuke saw that Dylan was in pain and had Jiraiya cast Dia on him in order to heal his burns.

"Look, you're one of the strongest people I know. And you're pretty tough." Chie reassured Yukiko, hoping that this would stop her Shadow.

Dylan merely nodded in agreement before letting Chie continue.

"Yukiko, I'm sorry that I was jealous of you and Dylan, I'm sorry for overreacting yesterday. You can do anything. And I really wanted to protect you, but I got a bit side-tracked. Anyway, you guys are really good for each other." Chie added.

Yukiko-hime interrupted the moment by engulfing Dylan in flames again. But he kept walking resolutely towards the cage.

Yu, Yosuke, Chie, Stephen and Roz all attacked Yukiko-hime at once in order to try and give Dylan enough time to reach the cage.

After having done so, he tried hitting the cage with his axe, but the cage had weakened gradually during the battle so he able to pull it open and rescue Yukiko.

"Dylan, are you alright? I'm sorry, but I don't think I can get out of the cage. You don't need to rescue me, you know." Yukiko demurred.

Dylan almost groaned in frustration. "Oh c'mon. Traditions do matter, but they're not the be all and end all. It doesn't matter if you're in New York or Inaba. So please take my hand."

Dylan had succeeded in taking Yukiko out of the cage just as the rest of the group had defeated Yukiko-hime. He watched with relief as Yukiko hugged Chie and then Roz, with the rest of the group gathered around her, including himself.

Yukiko's Shadow had reverted back to her original form and was just standing still. They all watched as Yukiko had approached her Shadow.

"I thought that I was going to be trapped if I inherited the Inn. Especially as my father had travelled a lot when he was younger. For possibly the first time in my life, I felt powerless and wanted a prince to rescue me. And I was wrong. But, you're me and I'm you." Yukiko smiled.

The Shadow had transformed into a feminine figure that had what appeared to be wings and was called Konohana-Sakuya. She turned into a card and floated downwards into Yukiko's outstretched palm where it was absorbed into her.

Yukiko looked up, sighed and smiled before uttering a single word. "Persona."

"Oh! Where are my manners? I'm Teddie!" Teddie had promptly lightened the situation.

The group, except for Yu, all sighed with relief but stopped as they could sense another presence. They could also hear what sounded like loud, sarcastic clapping.

"**How VERY disappointing. And I was SO looking forward to the sight of your hideously mutilated corpses! Except for you Dylan, I'll save you for last. Now, cue MY music." **A voice rang out.

**Look in my eyes, what do you see?**

**The cult of personality**

**I know your anger, I know your dreams**

**I've been everything you want to be**

They could hear music, and Dylan was starting to look increasingly nervous. "Oh fuck. Uh, guys? Maybe it's best if we go."

**I'm the cult of personality**

**Like Mussolini and Kennedy**

**I'm the cult of personality**

**The cult of personality**

**The cult of personality**

**The cult of personality **

They looked up as Shadow Dylan finally emerged, spreading his arms out wide.

**Neon lights, Nobel Prize**

**When the mirror speaks, the reflection lies**

**You won't have to follow me**

**Only you can set me free**

Dylan's fists clenched, his fingernails digging so hard into his palms that they drew blood. The only thing he could feel at that moment was rage.

**I sell the things you need to be**

**I'm the smiling face on your TV **

**I'm the cult of personality**

**I exploit you, still you love me**

**I tell you one and one makes three**

Shadow Dylan was enjoying this immensely. After all, Gregory had used this song for introducing himself at various corporate functions and events. The man had even declared his intention to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. Shadow Dylan could see nothing wrong with such a notion.

**I'm the cult of personality**

**Like Josef Stalin and Gandhi **

**I'm the cult of personality**

**The cult of personality**

**The cult of personality**

Shadow Dylan cast a very predatory gaze amongst the group, particularly towards Yukiko, Chie and Roz. He was most likely contemplating doing to them what he had done to the Princess. It was only fair, or it appeared fair to him.

**Neon lights, a Nobel Prize**

**When that leader speaks, that leader dies**

**You won't have to follow me**

**Only you can set you free**

Shadow Dylan seemed to direct that at Stephen, who flinched slightly.

**You gave me fortune **

**You gave me fame**

**You gave me power in your god's name**

**I'm every person you need to be**

**I'm the cult of personality**

Shadow Dylan briefly lifted his head to the sky and laughed maniacally as the song faded out.

"Damn." Yu was totally at a loss for words.

Shadow Dylan turned his attention on to Yu. **"Oh, so you're the one who ruined my plan, then? No matter."**

"What was this plan exactly?" Roz asked, raising her hand.

Shadow Dylan laughed at the question. **"My plan was for all of you to be dead and then I'd kill the Disappointment and take over his body. And then, I WOULD HAVE ESCAPED THIS WRETCHED PLACE AND BECOME FATHER'S PERFECT SON! BUT YOU RUINED IT!"**

"Wait, WHAT?!" Yukiko shouted.

Shadow Dylan coughed before snapping his fingers. **"I was going escape from here using the Disappointment's body. Besides, Father never cared for him because he wasn't like Joshua and Alex. Shame. He could have been involved in the business too." **

"Sorry, but what did Dylan's, I'm sorry, your father do?" Chie interrupted.

Shadow Dylan licked his lips. **"Don't ask him about his work. Don't ask ME about his work."**

"I'm pretty sure you're ripping off the Godfather asshole. I'm pretty sure Vito fucking Corleone had friends." Dylan retorted.

Shadow Dylan merely snapped his fingers again, causing the chandeliers to fall down around them. However, this wasn't done to harm them but it was done to prove a point.

"**Well, this has been most amusing." **Shadow Dylan purred.

The group knew that this wasn't going to be easy. At all.

**Song: Living Colour – Cult of Personality. The song's on You Tube among other sites, and it's pretty good.**


	15. Chapter 13: I'm Made Of Wax

**Chapter 13: I'm Made of Wax**

**April 18, 2011**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Persona series which is owned by Atlus and its parent company. JustCharles owns Reiko Setsuka as well. Just in case there's any issue. **

_Yukiko's Castle, Mayonaka _

There was a very brief silence that was interrupted by Teddie. "How bear you call Dylan a disappointment!"

"**Oh, I forgot, you don't know him like I do! Well, his girlfriend's alive again but his unborn son ISN'T! Not to mention some of the other charges he's picked up that Father had to deal with! Honestly!"** Shadow Dylan guffawed mockingly.

Roz had reacted to this comment from Shadow Dylan by slapping him full force across the face. But he ignored it and merely smiled at her in response.

"You bastard. You don't get to talk about him. Ever." Roz growled.

Chie looked over at Shadow Dylan with an expression of disgust on her face. "I can't believe that you're a part of Dylan. He's nothing like you. Or this "Father" person that you keep mentioning at every opportunity."

"The Dylan that I've come to know and love couldn't be so cold. I really don't know you could be a part of him." Yukiko added.

Dylan looked at Yukiko in disbelief before speaking up. "Wait, you love me? Why didn't you say this earlier?"

"I do. But I'm not sure if this is the right time to discuss our true feelings." Yukiko replied

Shadow Dylan coughed as a way of reminding the group about his presence. **"Oh isn't that sweet? Well, don't worry, I've got some FUN things planned for you before I kill you sweetheart. Just you wait." **

"That's just creepy." Yosuke interjected.

Stephen had his own questions to ask, but he put them to the back of his mind. "So, what caused you to emerge from Dylan's psyche then?"

"**Well, Roz's death or rather her original death had a lot to do with it. That and Dylan's feelings towards Father."** Shadow Dylan licked his lips in a suggestive manner.

Dylan had decided that he had to try and talk to his Shadow. "But that has nothing to do with them. If I'm the one you want then just let them go. Especially Yukiko. You don't have to hurt her to get to me."

"**Can you HEAR yourself?! No wonder Father calls you a Disappointment! You're weak! You're blinded by your own stupid, petty, insignificant feelings. We could be the perfect son. Together. Help me kill them and I'll just take you over! I'm making you an offer you can't refuse!" **Shadow Dylan boomed.

Dylan had taken a few brief steps towards his Shadow before punching him to the ground and screaming between each punch. "YOU DON'T THREATEN MY FRIENDS! I WILL NEVER EVER, EVER, EVER HELP YOU! I AM NOT LIKE YOU! AND! I! AM! NOT! LIKE! MY! DAD!"

Shadow Dylan humoured Dylan before roughly pushing him away.

"**You're just like me and I know that you're just like Father deep down. I am you and you are me!" **Shadow Dylan sang.

Yu had realized what was happening because he had lived through all these events before. "Dylan, no!"

"YOU'RE NOT ME!" Dylan yelled.

Shadow Dylan just laughed. **"Is that it? Is that really it?"**

"Aren't you supposed to change by now?" Yosuke asked.

"**I'm getting to it! But FIRST, maybe I should play you a little something."** Shadow Dylan replied.

Yu looked worriedly at Dylan. "You didn't deny him already did you?"

"Oh fuck." Dylan replied, dreading what was to come next.

"**First of all, I got off those charges and that's not me. For one thing I fucking hate wearing suits and I don't drink scotch all that much." **Shadow Dylan parroted.

Dylan just looked resolutely at Shadow Dylan. "I know what I said, and I'm standing by it. There's no way in hell that you're me."

"**FINE! Then I'll kill your friends before fucking, killing and skinning your girlfriend and making YOU FUCKING SUFFER before I kill you and take your body for myself. I'm going to enjoy making you squeal like **the **DIRTY FUCKING PIG THAT YOU ARE." **Shadow Dylan laughed.

The Shadow changed into a knight with golden armour complete with a large axe. He was also wearing a golden crown on his head that was encrusted with precious jewels.

Shadow Dylan gazed imperiously at the group. **"I am a Shadow, of your true self!" **

"Get ready!" Yu exclaimed.

Izanagi appeared first, followed by Jiraiya, Tomoe, Ho-Musubi, Konohana-Sakuya and Reiko.

Dylan looked at his Shadow and sighed despairingly. "I'm sorry guys. I probably should have been more honest with you. Especially Yukiko."

He tossed Yukiko a fan, which she caught.

"I don't think you need to worry about that now." Yosuke replied.

Yukiko was inclined to agree with the brunette. "It doesn't matter. What does matter, however, is getting out of this situation alive."

The Shadow raised his axe as if he was gathering power for some sort of attack.

"Be bear-y careful!" Teddie advised.

Shadow Dylan swung the axe at the ground, causing a shockwave that weakened the six Persona users. The shockwave was soon followed by lightning bolts and ice which would have caught them unawares if not for some quick thinking on Yu's part.

"Everybody get down, NOW!" Yu commanded.

The lightning bolts and ice had weakened them further, but they were still able to stand and fight much to Shadow Dylan's disappointment.

Stephen had just about managed to guard against the ice. "Oh so that's how you want to play it then? Ho-Musubi! AGI!"

Shadow Dylan dropped down to one knee but was still clutching the axe in his hands. He had kept his gaze fixed firmly on his assailants and his other self as a way of intimidating them into making a mistake.

"Guessing we should show him whose boss right?" Yosuke asked.

Each Persona user attacked the Shadow individually, weakening it a little bit. However, each attack only served to illustrate how

Shadow Dylan stood up and laughed. **"Did you REALLY think that would be enough?"**

The Shadow cast a spell on itself in order to boost its resistance to fire-based attacks.

"Shit. Change, Ara Mitama, RAKUNDA!" Yu called forth what looked like a red comma with an angry face to cast a de-buff spell on Shadow Dylan.

Roz was about to swing her Bo staff when something had occurred to her. "Yukiko, look, I know that while I have forgiven you for making a move on Dylan there's still a bond that kind of transcends a lot of stuff. Basically, what I'm saying is don't let him go."

"Alright. Although I'm not sure this is the best place to discuss the parameters of our relationship." Yukiko replied, looking over at Dylan.

While Konohana-Sakuya and Reiko's attacks on Shadow Dylan weren't as effective as using Agi would have been, they still did more damage to the Shadow.

Shadow Dylan bellowed in rage as he forced his way past them towards Dylan, knocking Konohana-Sakuya and Reiko aside like rag dolls.

Having made his way over to Dylan, he grabbed the blonde by the throat and roughly pulled him close. **"Do you like it, Disappointment? Do you like that I'm right about you? I don't think that they know the real you. I don't think that SHE knows the real you. You just hide from any responsibility like a selfish, immature child. I'm going to do to you what Mother should have done. End your existence."**

"Fuck you." Dylan spat.

This outburst only caused Shadow Dylan to tighten the grip he had on his other self. **"Well, that is what I'll be doing to you after your friends are dead. And before we become one, of course."**

"Not if I can help it! Valkyrie!" Yu exclaimed, switching out Ara Mitama for Valkyrie. Valkyrie was essentially a blonde woman on horseback wearing armour as well as a white cape.

Valkyrie stabbed Shadow Dylan in the back which caused Shadow Dylan to release his grip on Dylan, causing the blonde to crumple to the ground and clutch his throat in pain.

"**How very noble of Yu. But there's nothing that you can do!" **Shadow Dylan shouted before bringing his axe down on Valkyrie repeatedly. With every strike, Yu could feel everything and was still shocked that fighting Shadows hadn't gotten any easier despite it being his second go-around.

Finally, the Red Wall had worn off, along with the de-buff spell meaning that Shadow Dylan was once again vulnerable to fire but also his defences had been restored back to normal.

Yukiko had knelt over Dylan after commanding Konohana-Sakuya to cast Agi on Shadow Dylan, making the Shadow collapse again. "It's okay Dylan, I'm here. You don't need to face this by yourself."

"I know, but I didn't want to drag anyone else into it. And I know that you probably didn't want all of this mess." Dylan croaked.

Yukiko shook her head. "You don't need to worry about dragging anyone into anything because we want to help you. And you don't have to worry about me."

"I know. But there's a lot of stuff I did to cope with Roz's death and my dad's attitude towards me that I regret. Like overdosing a few times and that time in Vermont where myself, Steve and my three other friends broke into someone's house and turned it into our personal playground for two weeks." Dylan explained, while also standing up.

Stephen looked back at Dylan and smiled slightly. "Yeah. Look, you need to learn to let other people in otherwise you're just going to have to deal with your asshole of a Shadow again. And I've had enough of him."

"I know, but still." Dylan sighed.

Shadow Dylan had returned to his feet and smiled at his counterpart. **"Well, it doesn't matter what you do. You're still a disappointment to Father. And you'll still care about nobody but yourself."**

"Yeah. Trying to deal with how his dad felt towards him was what hurt Dylan and, I guess, caused the accident." Roz added.

Yukiko held her fan out in front of her and took a step in front of Dylan. "Well, you don't have to deal with it alone anymore Dylan. Kono, AGI!"

Shadow Dylan collapsed again, thudding to the ground as he did so.

"NOW! Let's try and finish him before he gets back up." Yu ordered.

The Persona users in the group each attacked Shadow Dylan in unison before their Personas did the same with Izanagi following up his attack by running Shadow Dylan through and meeting the Shadow's golden eyes with his own before shaking his head.

Dylan looked at his Shadow as he stood up to his feet and tightened his grip on his own axe. He wasn't quite sure how it had come to this but he was beginning to feel like enough was enough and it was time to put a stop to it.

"Alright that's enough. You've manifested as a part of me because of the accident and because of how I dealt with that and dad's attitude towards me, like I didn't matter. So yeah, you are me and I am you." Dylan stated.

Shadow Dylan howled in rage and barrelled towards Dylan, lifting his axe above his head. **"YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A DISAPPOINTMENT! AND I WILL NEVER EVER BE LIKE YOU! HOW WILL FATHER LOVE ME THEN?! HOW!" **

Before Shadow Dylan could strike the killing blow, Yukiko had thrown herself in front of him, much to the horror of the group.

**Don't blink they won't even miss you at all.**

**And don't think that I'll always be gone,**

**You know I've got you like a puppet in the palm of my hand,**

**Don't you let me down!**

"You don't know what love is!" Yukiko exclaimed, blocking Shadow Dylan's attack with her fan. Unfortunately, the Shadow was too strong for her, and was bringing the axe dangerously close towards her.

**So run like hell, **

**Sleep with one eye open,**

**I can't forgive or forget you**

**We'll tell everyone the damage done,**

**Deep down you can't stop me**

**You can't stop me now **

Seeing Yukiko's distress, Konohana-Sakuya, along with Stephen and Roz as well as their respective Personas rushed to aid her. Konohana-Sakuya had cast another Agi spell while Stephen, Roz, Ho-Musubi and Reiko had tried to inflict as much pain on Shadow Dylan as they possibly could before the Shadow could continue his onslaught.

**I'll be there just to watch you fall,**

**So don't push me, I've got nothing to lose,**

Shadow Dylan had returned to his feet before knocking Yukiko, Stephen, Roz and their Personas out of the way. Noticing this, Dylan had swung his axe at his Shadow, who blocked the swing. After pretending to be in some sort of distress, Shadow Dylan merely knocked his other self to the ground and was going to kill him.

**Don't blink they won't even miss you at all,**

**And don't think that I'll always be gone,**

**You know I've got you like a puppet in the palm of my hand,**

**Don't you let me down! **

Dylan rolled over just as Shadow Dylan brought his axe down and took a swing at his Shadow's leg before standing up and driving the axe into his Shadow's back. He'd hoped that was enough to at least stall his evil counterpart.

**{Oops,} there I go again,**

**I made it so damn hard to come back from the mess that you're in **

**I need you to know and I told you so.**

**You're a snake and I'm cautions**

**Just use your head. **

Shadow Dylan emitted an unearthly roar as he rose to his feet, only this time he was using his axe to steady himself. He looked down and could see black ichor seeping from his leg. This wasn't how he envisioned his plan progressing. It was meant to be much easier than this.

**I'll be there just to watch you fall**

**So don't push me, I've got nothing to lose. **

Jiraiya and Tomoe took advantage of Shadow Dylan's state of distress by attacking him with their kunai and a naginata respectively, mirroring Yosuke and Chie's wish to be finally rid of the monstrosity.

**Don't blink, they won't even miss you at all,**

**And don't think that I'll always be gone,**

**You know I've got you like a puppet in the palm of my hand,**

**Don't you let me down!**

**Come on**

**OOOOOOOHHHHHH!**

Yu and Izanagi had followed up that attack by launching attacks of their own on Shadow Dylan, looking as they had each stabbed Shadow Dylan a few times, Izanagi even running the Shadow through for a second or third time.

**[Cough, Cough]**

**Everybody's out to get me.**

**Any moment could be my last.**

**This is me, you can take it or leave. **

**Right or wrong**

**I will stand on my own two feet**

**Just breathe. **

**Just breathe. **

Much to their relief, the members of the group who had Personas were slowly whittling Shadow Dylan down. Still, exhaustion was beginning to set in and they didn't know how much longer they could hold on for.

**Don't blink, they won't even miss you at all.**

**And don't think that I'll always be gone,**

**You know I've got you like a puppet in the palm of my hand,**

**Don't you let me down!**

"**WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!" **Shadow Dylan exploded, trying to not only kill Dylan but also the rest of the team, who weren't making it an easy task.

**Don't blink, they won't even miss you at all.**

**And don't think that I'll always be gone,**

**You know I've got you like a puppet in the palm of my hand,**

**Don't you let me down!**

Dylan looked at his Shadow and sighed. "Look, I get it now. I'm you and you're me. So just drop it, okay?"

**OH!**

"I'll say it again, I'm you and you're me. And I'm fine with it." Dylan ran his hands through his hair.

The group looked as Shadow Dylan reverted back to his human form and stared at them, his golden eyes glowing with barely-concealed hatred. Dylan watched as the rest of the team except for Teddie had recalled their Personas.

Shadow Dylan laughed at his other self before insulting him again. **"You're nothing and the fact that you've accepted me doesn't change that! You're still going to be a complete disappointment. And you're still going to be nothing."**

Almost as soon as he had uttered those words, Dylan had grabbed him by the throat with his right hand and the waist of the trousers of his suit before lifting him into the air.

"I'm made of wax asshole, what are you made of? Oh, and I've got my friends and the girl I love so I think I'll be just fine. See you in hell, CHOKESLAM!" Dylan exclaimed, promptly choke-slamming his Shadow.

Shadow Dylan gradually disappeared into blue light and began to be transfigured into something else. Dylan could hear a familiar voice in his head. _The strength of heart required to face oneself has been made manifest._

The blue light soon coalesced into a tall figure with long black hair wearing blue trousers that had a white lightning bolt design going up each leg, upper-body armour, steel toed boots, and a mask that resembled the face of a cat with the ears to match. In addition, the figure had a sheathe on its back that had the hilt of a katana or perhaps a nodachi sticking out of it. _Dylan has faced his other self, he has obtained the façade used to overcome life's hardships._

Dylan took a long look at the figure.

"**You did good kid." **He could even hear the figure's voice offering his approval.

_The Persona Gouto-Douji! _

Gouto-Douji transformed into a card and floated down to Dylan's hand, and he took it and watched in awe as it disappeared.

Yukiko interrupted the moment by voicing a thought that she'd had before the battle had ended. "So, we've got a lot to talk about when we get out of here, right?"

"I guess." Dylan replied before collapsing.

"Dylan!" Yu, Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, Stephen, Roz and Teddie shouted.

Dylan looked at Yukiko who had knelt down to help him stand up again. "So it's finally over?

Dylan smiled with relief and joy as Yukiko nodded back.

They each looked at each other and leaned in to each other with their eyes closed as if they were about to kiss. After a few moments, Dylan held Yukiko in his arms and kissed her which caused her to gasp for breath a little before reciprocating. He almost smiled as she had put her arms around him in order to draw him closer to her.

However, they broke the kiss after a few minutes before it got too heavy.

"In response to your earlier question, then yes." Yukiko blushed.

She was quickly proven wrong as something had knocked down the wall and had entered into the room.

Teddie had noticed it faster than everyone else seemed to, "It's another Shadow and something must have upset it because it's bear-y, bear-y mad!"

"**Are you the ones who hurt Mother?"** The Shadow roared.

Dylan looked at the Shadow and uttered the first words he could think of. "Oh crap."

**Song: A Day To Remember – I'm Made Of Wax Larry, What Are You Made Of? The music video is up on You Tube and it is incredibly entertaining. Along with a few live versions of it.**

**Note: It'd be interesting to read what people think of the story now that it's been about 15 chapters and my writing style has changed for better or for worse. Please feel free to review or PM with feedback or suggestions and I'll try to respond to those as best I can.**

**And yes, Dylan's initial Persona is in fact Gouto-Douji from the Devil's Summoner spin-off series of Shin Megami Tensei with a much more human design. But he's not going to be turned into something resembling Cat from Red Dwarf or anything like that. That being said, I do have some stuff planned. Anyway, please read and review.**

**Also, and I know it's been said a lot already, RIP Robin Williams.**


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